Jackson the Swordsman
by Jacob Pendra-Huth
Summary: This was the very first story I ever written. I stowed it away for a few years, but now I think it's time I show it to the world. Jackson, a young spirited kid, is about to start a crazy adventure full of excitement. Joined by beloved, well known characters, Jackson will have to undergo many ordeals in order to discover his true potential.
1. I'm Jackson! The Start of a New Life!

_To my best friend, John "Jackie" T. Guckin, who taught me that working together with friends can solve any problem, big and small._

**Prologue: A Warrior Awaits**

A hero, born of great skills and courage, stands firmly on top of a majestic mountain, next to him his horse stood, the fastest steed ever known to all. Looking across the plains, the hero notices an ominous tower, glooming under the dark skies. There, a princess lays captive to an evil king, and who's army was standing in front of the tower, their face masked, but their eyes glowing menacingly through them, standing between the tower and the hero.

Quick as a whip, the hero leaps onto his steed and charges downward towards the sinister army. He pulls his sword from his scabbard across his waist; he hoists the shield from his back, and prepares for battle. The army notices him, and with vindictive battle cries they charged towards him, flailing their clubs, spears and swords in the air as they went. Through the helmet, the hero smirked, and with every swipe he took upon the army, many would go flying into the air, unable to endure or move ever again. His sword slashed again and again, dwindling the army before his eyes. At one final slash of his blade, the army was defeated, and placing his sword back into the scabbard but keeping his shield tight onto him, he snapped the reigns of his steed, and he charged towards the tower. Just as he was nearing towards the gates of the tower, an earthquake shook the ground before the hero. Suddenly, an eruption of earth and stone took place in front of the hero, and out of it came a gigantic beast, as big as the tower, but far more foreboding. It's teeth were like broadswords, it's scales were as hard as steel, it's nostrils flaring with smoke, and it's claws and horns sharp as daggers. There standing upon its head was the king, once a kind gentle face, turned sinister and grim. He barked with laughter at the sight of the hero, amused by his presence, and claiming he was invincible. Once again, the great hero smirked, and leapt on top of his horse, pulling his sword out once again, and raising it towards the monstrosity. With an instance he leaped off his steed and soared towards the monster's head. The king ordered his creature to attack, and the beast let out a blast of flames. As the hero and the flames draw closer together, one hopes to think that this would be the greatest battle ever to be emitted.

However, this never happened, because this is not the true story. The story has things like swords and creatures and battles between good and evil. But there was no army, nor a king or a princess of any sort, at least not yet. There wasn't even a brave knight in shining armor. There was however a young boy, a boy who wouldn't ever believe that anything special would happen to him, and who thought that no grand adventures would come to be. He, however, never knew of the path that he was about to take, a path leading to the unknown, the mysterious, but a terrific one indeed. That is when this story begins…

**Chapter 1: A Vacation to Remember**

Earth. A world full of life and beauty. There are many places in the world to go to, from the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado, to the Great Wall of China. Our focal point, however, starts in the port in Miami, Florida. People around here do different things. Some go exploring around the docks, some work around to keep things intact and neat. Others would often go on a cruise, where they would journey out into the waters beyond, where they can explore strange new areas. One family would soon experience that thrill of adventure and mystery.

As people started boarding the cruise liner, a woman was searching for someone. She had long, blondish-red hair, a short sleeve shirt, and a skirt. Her name was Anne, and was showing a slightly irritable look. "Where are they?" she wondered. "I hope they didn't get lost."

Just then, a hand reached out and touched her shoulder. Turning around, she saw a man, with brown hair, a bushy mustache, jeans, and a Hawaiian T-shirt. His name was Drew, who was Anne's husband. "Don't scare me like that," She said, frowning at her husband. "Sorry," replied Drew, "It's kind of hard to call for you in this crowd." "Never mind that," said Anne, looking behind Drew. "Where are the kids?" she asked. Drew was about to reply when suddenly two voices were shouting not far away. "Jackson, Give me back my purse!" cried a girl's voice. "Only if you catch me!" replied a boy's voice, "Too bad you can't!" Drew turned around and sighed. "Found them," he said. Running through the crowd of people were two kids. The chaser, which was the girl, had long purple-dyed hair, a polka-doted blouse, and a skirt. The boy who was being chased had blondish-brown curly hair, a short sleeve shirt, and shorts. His name was Jackson P. Peterson-Hirsch, and the girl's name was Cocoa F. Peterson. Before I get any further into the story, let me tell you about these two children.

Jackson was 7 years old, and was a crazy little child. He loved to run around and have fun. He enjoyed practicing swordplay, and had taken fencing and kendo. He was rather impatient, and he was always trying to find something new and exciting in his life, and he would go on adventures to find them. His favorite occupation was to annoy his sister as much as he can.

Cocoa was 8 years old, and was sort of a hot-tempered girl. She always likes to prove how good she was in everything, and has also learned the arts of self-defense, such as karate. She was dedicated to her friendships she made, and prefers siding with people she cared for, whether they were right or wrong. Her favorite occupation was to pester her younger brother in many ways.

Now both Cocoa and Jackson were very bright, so bright in fact that they skipped a year each. As such, they were always competitive, and both were even in the same acrobatics class. Both were better than any of the other students in their class, but Cocoa was slightly better. It didn't matter to Jackson, considering he proved to be faster that her sister every time they enter the running track. Jackson loved doing mathematics, and he sometimes enjoyed writing stories. Cocoa preferred Social Studies and English, and would read books instead of writing them. Now that you know about them more, lets get back to the story.

Cocoa and Jackson were maneuvering around the crowd, not knowing that they were heading towards their parents. When they got within earshot, Anne cried "Jackson! Cocoa!" Both of them screeched to a halt, and realizing who called out to them, they nervously turned around to see both their mom and dad glaring at them. "Uh, oh" said Jackson, "Were in trouble." "Were in trouble?" replied Cocoa, snatching her purse out of Jackson's hand, "You should be the one in trouble!" Jackson turned to her, a frown forming in his face. "Hey, you're the one who can't take a joke!" He said, "It's not my fault that you don't have a sense of humor." "I do!" Cocoa snapped, "It's your jokes that are lame." "What was that?!" Jackson retorted. "You heard me." Cocoa replied smugly, and lightning shot from their eyes at each other.

"That's enough!" cried Anne. She walked right up to her children and grabbed them at the scruff of their necks. "Honestly," She protested, "Of all the places to start this… You should be ashamed, you two!" "W-we didn't mean to upset you," stammered Jackson, "Cocoa just can't take a joke." "I don't care!" said Anne, "I want you two to be on your best behavior, this is a very special cruise for all of us, and we paid a lot of money to go on one. I don't want any more of this from you two, is that clear?!" Under the glare of their mother for which no child of hers could overpower, they replied, "Yes mom." Her face softened into a smile. Cocoa and Jackson always know that she is always kind, but upset her in anyway, and you might as well dig your own grave. Drew was waiting patiently for them, and once they were done, he lead the way towards where they were to board, holding Jackson's hand while Anne was holding Cocoa's hand.

They boarded onto the ship, where a woman was waiting for them. "Hello," she said cheerfully, "Welcome to the Caribbean Cruise Liner! I shall be your tour guide, Mrs. Cyan."

"Hello," said Anne, "Were the Peterson-Hirsch family." The guide looked down the list in her hand to check if the name was there. "Peterson…-Hirsch! There you are," She said, "Well, shall I give you the full tour?" The family agreed, and they set off. Mrs. Cyan showed them their rooms first, one for the parents, and one for the kids. Afterwards, she showed them the lobby, the restaurant, in which Jackson drooled upon sight, the theatre, the docks, and all sorts of places. After the tour, the family went to the deck and watched as they set off from the port and off to sea. They were heading for adventure.

Once the family was done watching, they split up. Anne and Drew took a walk around the deck, Cocoa went to the lobby where she meet another girl at, and Jackson went to the game room, where he spent a lot of his money on video games. Both his mom and dad yelled at him for doing such a stupid thing, and Jackson grimaced on his dumb ordeal. _Well, I guess that leaves six more days not to screw up._ thought Jackson as they went to get dinner.

The next day, the ship stopped at the Key West, where the family got to learn how to snorkel. Jackson spend a third of the time trying to figure out why water came into his goggles, until he found out they were upside-down, and that made everyone laugh. After the lesson, they spent the rest of the time looking around at all the shops, where Cocoa bought herself a new purse, but Jackson couldn't buy anything due to his past mistake.

That evening, Jackson got lucky. He won some money in a game of bingo, which paid off his debt, with a little extra to spare. Jackson was so relieved that he got that over with, but Cocoa was upset by Jackson's luck cause she was having way too much fun making fun of him.

The next afternoon, the passengers were told that a storm was about to come their way, and it would arrive within a few hours. This didn't bother Jackson and Cocoa, considering they were having fun splashing in the deck pool. After they were done, they dried off, got dressed, got dinner with their parents, and went to their rooms. Cocoa sat up on her bed, where she pulled out her book and began to read. Jackson began searching around for his magazine, but it wasn't in the room. "Oh, no," he groaned, "I forgot to get my bag when we left the pool!"

Cocoa sighed. "Jackson, you'll lose your head if it wasn't screwed on." she replied, looking over her book at Jackson. "I have to go find it!" declared Jackson, sitting up and grabbing his shoes. "You can't go out there," said Cocoa, "You heard the captain, there's a storm approaching." "I'll run for it," replied Jackson, lacing his shoes up. Cocoa looked disconcertingly at Jackson. Finally, she said, "All right, all right, you can go. But I better come with you just in case you do another dumb thing." _I was thinking the same thing about you. _Jackson thought to himself and, once they were all prepared, they set off outside.

The clouds were a deep gray as the two came outside. A sprinkle of rain was starting to come about, the wind was starting to whistle, and the waves were starting to grow larger. Cocoa and Jackson dashed towards the edge of the pool, where sure enough, Jackson's bag laid. Jackson took a quick look to see if everything was there, and Cocoa looked around nervously. "Come on!" she exclaimed, "Let's go before we're spotted." "Your so overdramatic," replied Jackson, hoisting his bag over his shoulder, "Were absolutely fine, what could possibly go…" BOOM! A fork of lightning shot through the sky, with the thunder a millisecond behind. Cocoa screamed, Jackson leapt in terror, and without a word they charged towards the door.

They couldn't run cause the swaying of the ship was too much; and the sky suddenly turned inky black, which made everything around them completely dark. The rain pounded on top of them, and the wind howled with all its might. Cocoa and Jackson had no choice but to grasp onto the bars on the side of the ship and slowly creep along the side towards the door. The storm was so deafening, that Jackson couldn't even scream to Cocoa, even though she was a foot away. Jackson couldn't bear to think that anything would be worse than this, but somehow it did.

A great wave whipped the side of the ship, jerking the side opposite to them upward. Cocoa braced on for dear life, but Jackson wasn't so lucky. He felt his feet lift off the deck, flipping him over the guardrail, just barely holding onto the wet bars. Cocoa noticed this in a split second, and quickly came to Jackson's aid, grasping both of his arms. Jackson tried to pull himself up, but all of his strength seemed to be focused on holding himself up by the bars. Cocoa, however, was using all of her energy trying to lift Jackson up, but it was too difficult for her alone.

Just then, a pair of headlamps came out of nowhere. One of the sailors spotted them from the further side of the deck. He was rushing towards them, and Cocoa, noticing this, thought that they were safe. Oh, how wrong she was. Another huge wave slapped the ship again, making the sailor stumble to the side, but it made Cocoa flip over the guardrail as well, sending her and Jackson plummeting into the water. They splashed into the water with tremendous force, but fortunately they held their breath before they sank in. Both Cocoa and Jackson were great swimmers, and tried their best to swim to the surface.

They came up from watery depths, holding onto each other, gasping for air, the rest of their energy keeping them above the surface. They could barely hear the sailor cry "Children overboard!" over a loudspeaker, notice the headlamps moving towards the place they fell off, and see a pair of life vests thrown towards them. "Put those on!" cried the sailor. They did so, fitting the vests over their head, keeping them above surface. "Hold on, I'll get help!" he shouted, and saw the headlamps move towards one end of the ship and disappear.

Just then, Cocoa and Jackson heard a rumbling from behind. They turn to see a gigantic wave coming towards them, higher than the ship's deck. Both were paralyzed, screaming in fear, watched as the wave was right on top of them, and then it fell, consuming them in it's wake. The storm, the waves, all sounds were extinguished. Complete silence filled every crevice of their ears, as they slowly drift downwards into the depths below.

Now you might think that this is the end of these children, but it is far from over. This is barely the beginning for both of them, and one of them hasn't even started his true adventure yet.

**Chapter 2: Life on an Island**

Many people have heard rumors of the Bermuda Triangle, about ships and planes disappearing, on all the mysterious rumors of unnatural activity. In that triangle there are a few islands, some of which haven't been discovered. It is fortunate that one of these undiscovered islands just happens to be where two young kids lay unconscious upon its shore, and I believe we know whom they are.

Jackson was standing all alone, seeing nothing but white light all around, and his own shadow. Looking at his shadow, he noticed that the shadow was not his own, but of someone behind him. Looking around, he was blinded by the brightness of the light, but he could see a man. _Was it God?_ thought Jackson. His instincts told him that it wasn't God, and his instincts were rarely wrong. His eyes were adjusting to the light, and he could see the face of the man before him. He looked familiar to him. He was taller than Jackson, and he carried two swords. Though the hair and face looked just like his. _Is that…me?_ Jackson asked. Suddenly, the light grew brighter as the man walked away. "Wait, hold on!" Jackson shouted, but he was blinded by the light.

He opened his eyes. His body ached all over. His mind felt waterlogged, and his mouth felt salty. He coughed up any seawater that was in him, and looked up. The sky was clear, with a few puffy clouds scattered here and there. Off in the distance he could hear seagulls chirping, the tide going back and forth, the swaying of palm trees, and someone breathing beside him. He tilts his head to the right and saw his sister's face, calm and quiet. He sat up. Then he reminded not to sit up so quickly as his head started to spin.

He shook his head and got onto his knees. He felt the sand underneath his hands. He crept over to his sister, and started to shake her. "Sis?" he croaked, "Sis, wake up." He shook her a bit more until he saw her eyes slowly open. He heard her groan, and then she started to sit up. Jackson supported her back, raising her up until she could support herself. Cocoa put her hand to her forehead and slowly looked around.

"What happened?" she whispered. Jackson thought to himself. He remembered seeing that huge wave coming upon them, and then it crashed on top of them, but he couldn't remember anything afterwards. "I think the wave knocked us out." Said Jackson, slowly and conclusively, "Then, somehow we managed to wash up on shore." Cocoa stared all around. "Wow," she said, her voice still soft, "I think we managed to land on an island." Jackson looked all around as well. There were palm trees as far as the eye can see, some of them had coconuts, some even had bananas. The jungle in front of them looked dense and damp from the storm. There were boulders here and there, and the shore was nothing but sand.

Jackson got to his feet to get a better look. It was then he noticed he was wearing his life vest, and so was Cocoa. Now he knew how come they didn't drown. That wasn't on his mind at the moment. What really concerned him was that he couldn't see any signs of people anywhere. There were no footprints in the sand. No man-made structures or sculptures anywhere. It seemed desolate. He turned around to see the open sea. There were no other islands from this viewpoint.

"I'm gonna go look around," said Jackson. He turned to his sister. "You stay here and catch your breath." Cocoa nodded, and Jackson walked off. He kept looking around, shouting once in a while. He didn't go into the jungle, just in case if he would get lost. After a half hour, he found himself walking back to Cocoa, having walked around the island, with no signs of other people, no other islands, nothing. They were all alone.

Jackson told her the bad news. She curled up into a ball and started to cry into her knees. Jackson rarely ever saw her cry, considering she was a tough sort of girl, though he never told her that. He admitted to himself that he was scared, really scared. But it wouldn't do him any good to sob over it. He sat down next to Cocoa, and put his arm around her shoulder. He tilted his head onto the other one, making sure that she was loved. For about an hour she cried, until she started to make dry little sobs, and then became silent. All the while, Jackson continued to look up into the sky, watching the clouds go by.

Finally, Cocoa looked up. "W-well, we got to set up camp." She stammered. She shrugged off her brother's arm and stood up. "Why are you sitting around here doing nothing?" she said, looking down at her brother. "Come on, we got to get everything prepared before nightfall." Jackson sighed. He knew her sister was quick on the draw when it came to being her normal, ignorant self, even though she did ball her eyes out. He stood up as well. "Which one should we do first?" he asked, "Fire? Shelter?" A loud groan came out of nowhere. "Maybe some food would be a start." said Cocoa as Jackson put a hand to his belly. He chuckled and both of them set off. They climbed up the trees, where they grabbed some bananas and coconuts. They used the surrounding rocks to crack open their coconuts, and then they sipped and ate there bananas and coconut milk.

Once they had their fill, they decided to explore the jungle itself. So they went into it, where they found a lot of other foods, including some native chickens. Cocoa spotted a small spring filled with crystal clear water. They were both thankful they found water that wasn't salty.

Afterward, both Cocoa and Jackson did their best in building a small fort. It wasn't sturdy, but it provided shelter. They also found a rock that, according to Cocoa, was the perfect igniter for a fire. Jackson gathered some wood, and they made a fire, where they had warmth as they ate more bananas and coconuts. "If we only will eat this stuff for now on, we'll turn into monkeys!" complained Cocoa. Jackson laughed, thinking of her sister as a monkey. "We'll, at least it'll be an improvement," replied Jackson. Then they spent the rest of the evening Cocoa chasing Jackson while Jackson made a monkey impression.

Now you might think two children wouldn't last long on an island, but this is a different story. There was something about Jackson that made him a very lucky person. Maybe it was just luck that he was really lucky, or maybe he was gifted that way, but otherwise his luck seemed to save them the next week.

Cocoa and Jackson were tired of eating just fruit and coconuts all the time, so they tried to catch fish with their hands, but it proved to be impossible for them. They were just about to give up when suddenly Cocoa noticed something. From a small distance, Cocoa could see what looked like a giant wooden crate. Both she and Jackson swam over to see, and their assumption was right. They pushed it up to the shoreline. It was about as high as Jackson's chin, and it was very insulated, not a sign of a hole in it.

"Wonder what's in it?" asked Jackson. "Maybe it's clothing," suggested Cocoa. "It could be food," said Jackson. "Well let's open it up and find out." Said Cocoa. They used a couple rocks and started smashing the top of the wooden crate until they finally started to break it open. They tore off the lid to find something they least expected; books.

"Aw, man!" Moaned Jackson. "Were on an island with nobody on it, and still we can't get away from the library!" Cocoa picked up a book and flipped through the pages. She was always a bookworm in Jackson's point of view. "Wait a second," said Cocoa, her eyes scanning through the book. "This book is all about how to make shelters and forts." She put the book down gently on the dry sand and picked another one from the crate. "This one explains all kinds of plants and fruits in the world." She said, her expression full of amazement.

"You're kidding!" said Jackson, his face turned from gloomy to shocked. He started to pick up books. There were books on survival tips, some on how to weave clothing, a couple on animals and fishing, and one, for some odd reason, talked all about blacksmithing.

"Wonder where all these books came from?" asked Jackson, searching the insides of the covers for a name. "Look over here." Said Cocoa, staring at the side of the box. Jackson walked over to Cocoa side and looked at the box. There were some words pasted on it, and even though the water faded a bit of it, it was still readable.

**Exploration Books: Surviving the Amazon.**

Cocoa and Jackson stared at each other, then at the inscription. "It's a survival kit?" asked Jackson. "I guess so," replied Cocoa. "Must've belonged to a ship that was heading to South America, but I guess this crate fell off."

"Well that's a pity for them," muttered Jackson. "Now_they_ won't be able to survive." Cocoa and Jackson stared at each other, and then they balled with laughter. They couldn't believe how lucky they could be. Of all the things they needed, they got everything they wanted in the form of books.

The first of the books that they used was the book on fishing. Cocoa found a page on how to make fishing poles and harpoons. Jackson looked through another book, and found a chapter on how people in the old days built canoes and rafts. Within a few hours they gathered some logs, tied them together with palm leaves, and shoved it out into the water. Cocoa fashioned a couple fishing poles, used the island fruit as bait, and within an hour had caught four good-sized fish.

Once they got back to shore, they started a fire, where they roasted the fish and ate them. Delicious. It tasted so good in their mouths after having nothing but fruit and coconut milk to eat. As they munched on the fish, they discussed what should they do next. Cocoa recommended refurbishing their fort. Jackson squashed this idea by saying that they would need tools to build a better one, and they had none. They decided to look in the book on blacksmithing. It showed all kinds of ores, how they can be used to make certain tools and weapons. Within reading about the ores, they set off looking for some.

They went deep in the jungle until they found a few large boulders with tons of ore, which turned out to be iron ore. They found a couple rocks that looked almost like chisels, grabbed a couple more that would be used as hammers for the chisels, and started pounding away at the rocks until they got a lot of iron ore. They brought it all back to their beach, and tried their best in making something out of it. It was rough and tedious work; messing things up, gaining only scorch marks on their hands and arms, wondering if they were able to do it at all. Cocoa was all in for giving up, but Jackson wouldn't take no for an answer. He was always like that, cause when he sets his mind on something; it sticks there until it is accomplished. Cocoa left Jackson alone to do the work and started looking at a book on weaving. Jackson felt he could do it, regardless of his inexperience in doing something like this.

It took a week for Jackson to finally figure out his mistakes, and with the last of the ore he finally made a crude, yet sharp dagger. Cocoa was amazed by Jackson's accomplishment, and said it would come useful to them. But Jackson didn't stop there. Now understanding how to make a small dagger. He went back to the ore and chiseled some more out of the rocks. He gathered all he got and brought it back to the beach. Before he got down to business, he gathered a decent sized rock, a short thick branch, and some tree sap. Jackson did his best in putting a small crater in the rock, put some tree sap in it, stuck the branch into it, and tied it firmly together with palm leaves. Within the next day, the sap dried up, forming a decent looking hammer for Jackson to use in his blacksmithing.

He found a hollow stump that Jackson thought would be used as a bucket for water. He started to get to work in forging another utensil, using a fire to heat the iron, the hammer to shape it, and the water in the bucket to cool it down. By nightfall, he finally forged a blade, and used another thick branch as a handle. Sticking it in place with tree sap, he finally created a machete. Jackson, his face covered with soot, his arms and hands singed, parts of his shirts and shorts burnt, but his heart was delighted by his work. This made things much easier for him and his sister with chopping down logs and getting island animals.

During the time Jackson was doing all this, Cocoa figured out how to make clothing and stuff out of palm trees and bark. She even made a belt buckle for Jackson and Cocoa's new weapons. With the use of the machete, they chopped down a few more trees to fortify their fort. He even got one of the chickens and they learned how to pluck off its' feathers and roast it over a fire.

This was a big step in their lives. The books sure taught them how to survive on the island much longer than anyone could ever predict. For children, they were successful for lasting a long time. However, they would never expect anything could be more unusual than this. Their adventures were only beginning.

**Chapter 3: Gem of Wonder**

Cocoa and Jackson were lying on their backs, staring up at the stars. The only sound that was to be heard was the soft wind rustling the palm tree leaves and the crackling fire between them. Jackson turned to Cocoa, noticing how much her skin has darkened due to the sun exposure, seeing her long hair, no longer purple, but her natural brown. He looked at his skin, seeing how much it had changed, too. His hair was shortened, it was dark blonde, but was still curly. Jackson finally spoke up.

"Have you been marking down the days, sis?" he asked. "Everyday," replied Cocoa, still staring upwards. "Know what tomorrow is?" asked Jackson. Cocoa turned over and stared a Jackson with a smile. "Tomorrow is the same day we came here," she answered, "Day three hundred and sixty-five."

Jackson looked up again. He couldn't believe how long its' been since they arrived, and how long they survived. "We did good." said Cocoa "At least, for a couple of kids." Jackson smirked, agreeing with her in his mind. Cocoa looked back up at the stars. "Wonder if anyone is still looking for us," muttered Cocoa. Jackson knew the answer to that, but he didn't reply. He knew that nobody was looking for them, thinking that they drowned or something. He did miss mom and dad, but he did enjoy the island adventure he and his sister were having.

Jackson pondered a second on the next question he was going to ask, knowing it would be a stupid one. "Hey, sis?" said Jackson. "Mm?" moaned Cocoa. "Remember that day when we arrived here?" he asked. "How could I not?" snorted Cocoa. "Well, did you see anything before I woke you up?" Jackson asked, "You know, like an image of some sort in a dream?" Cocoa was silent for a moment, then replied "No, can't remember. Why do you ask?" "Well," Jackson started. "I do remember seeing something before I woke up." "Really?" said Cocoa, silently chuckling. "What was it, a plate of drumsticks?"

Jackson turned to look at his sister, his face showing annoyance. "It wasn't like that." He replied. "Well, what was it then?" asked Cocoa, turning to look at Jackson, still smirking. Jackson paused for a second, thinking for what he was about to say, then he answered, "I think I saw myself, but I looked different, much older, carrying swords, something like that. I'm not sure why, but I felt like that was the future me. That was who I was gonna be." Cocoa looked up again, thinking about what Jackson said. "Probably the seawater got to your head," replied Cocoa, "You were delusional. I doubt that would happen." "It could…maybe," muttered Jackson, who started doubting himself a bit.

Both of them went quiet for a while. Finally Cocoa sat up and stretched her arms. "I'm gonna hit the sack." she yawned, "You coming?" Jackson shook his head, still thinking. "Suit yourself," she replied, and walked back to the fort, leaving Jackson all alone.

Jackson kept thinking about that person he saw. He knew he wasn't being delusional, but was having a hard time contemplating what it meant. Jackson thought so long, that he was starting to get tired. His eyes were starting to droop, and he was starting to fall asleep when suddenly something shot straight across the sky. He opened his eyes a little. "Was that a shooting star?" he wondered. Suddenly there was another one, and another, and finally a whole bunch of lights were shooting across the sky. "Wow, look at them all!" wondered Jackson. He wanted to stay awake to watch the whole thing, but already his drowsiness was overtaking him. He laid back and closed his eyes. The last thing he saw was one light seemed to be a lot closer than the others, and before he drifted off to sleep, he thought he felt a slight vibration on the ground, like something hit the ground. But before he knew it, he fell asleep, and thought no more.

The next morning, Jackson polished his morning meal of fruit and fish much quicker than he usually did, washed his face, and tore off into the jungle. "Where are you heading off to in such a hurry?" asked Cocoa, who barely got through half of her breakfast. "Why does it matter to you?" said Jackson, stopping only to grab his machete. "I was just wondering." said Cocoa, shocked by Jackson's tone, "You just look like you are anxious to see something." Jackson made sure he had everything, and then he rushed into the jungle, only shouting, "I'll tell you later on." This left Cocoa feeling curious by Jackson's actions.

Jackson kept charging through the forest, leaping and ducking as he went. He was sure that what he saw and felt was real, and wanted to see if one of the shooting stars fell on the island. Jackson kept staring around him, looking for anything out of the ordinary, considering he knew the island very well. He checked by the watering hole, by the iron ore boulders, he even searched all around the edge of the island, but no sign of the shooting star. He decided to look in one last place before he gave up, so he rushed to his small training grounds, which was basically an empty space within the jungle, where Jackson continues to train his swordplay.

He broke through the canopy to his spot, and looked all around for anything different. He didn't see anything unusual at first, but then he saw something within the shadowy edge of the jungle. He rushed forward to get a better look at what it is. It looked like a small crater, with something glowing in it. Excited, Jackson crept closer till he was standing at the edge of it. Looking down, he saw the shooting star, but it was far different than Jackson imagined.

It was not a meteorite, but it was gem. It shined a sort of bright magenta color. It was crystal clear, shaped perfectly like a diamond in a jewelry store. Jackson couldn't believe how beautifully crafted it was, even though it was a shooting star. He wondered if it was safe to pick it up. He slowly knelt down and reached out to the gem, waiting for the moment where it would burn him, but it never came. Jackson touched the gem with his middle finger. It didn't feel hot, but it was sort of warm.

He picked up the gem, and held it in his hand. It felt nice and warm in the palm of his hand, but he felt something else that was very unusual. The best way he could describe the feeling was as if there was some sort of energy coming from the gem, and it was coursing through his body. _Just what is this thing made out of? _wondered Jackson, holding the gem towards the sunlight. He stood there for a while just looking at the gem, with hundreds of questions popping into his mind, like where did it come from, or what it was.

For a while there was complete silence, then Jackson could hear Cocoa's voice. "Jackson, where are you?" came her voice which shouted over the canopy. Jackson heard her, but he didn't know where to hide it. He could hear a rustling of leafs being pushed around from the opposite side of him. He quickly placed the gem behind his back, hiding it from view.

Cocoa came tearing through the canopy, bent over, all out of breath. "Where have you been?" she panted, breathing between every other word. "Nowhere." replied Jackson, tilting his head towards the sky. "Oh, yes you were!" retorted Cocoa, finally catching her breath, "You went rushing into the jungle like something new showed up in there." She straightened herself and looked at Jackson with an expression of frustration. "You better tell me what's going, or else I…"

She stopped in mid-sentence, and stared at Jackson carefully. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at Jackson. "What's what?" asked Jackson, now feeling nervous. "There's something shining behind you," she remarked, walking towards Jackson with an expression of curiosity. Jackson was starting to back away from her, but suddenly her hand darted and grabbed the gem from Jackson's hands, which were still behind him. "Hey!" Jackson retorted, trying to grab it back, but he tripped and fell on the ground instead. Cocoa held it up to the sun, her eyes sparkling with the glow.

"Where did you find this beautiful thing?" she gasped, completely transfixed at the gem. Jackson got to his knees and coughed up some dirt. "It was a shooting star that fell last night," he spat, "and it belongs to me, now give it!" He quickly swung his legs around and swept Cocoa off her feet. She fell on her back, the gem slipped out of her hand, landing a few meters from both of them. Jackson jumped up onto his feet and darted towards the gem. Cocoa flipped onto her hands and knees and crawled as quickly as she could possibly can.

Both Cocoa and Jackson grasped the gem at the same time. Cocoa got to her feet as both of them were having a tug-o-war with the gem. They kept shouting at each other, "Let go of the gem!" "It's mine!" "Yeah, well I found it first." "So? I'm the older one." "What's that got to do with this?" "Everything! Now let it go!" "No way!" They both struggled with all their might, neither one letting up. Finally, Jackson took in a deep breath and shouted two works. "LET GOOO!", hoping that would shake his sister's grip. No sooner did he scream than something did happen.

The gem started to glow brighter and brighter. A high-pitched hum was coming from it. Cocoa and Jackson stopped struggling and stared at the gem. The gem was emitting some sort of energy. Jackson was completely in shock in what was happening. The gem was bursting with what seemed to be multi-colored streams, soaring above both of them and started to encircle around them. Both Cocoa and Jackson were staring around, wondering what in the world was going on, when out of the blue they were hoisted into the air, so that they looked like they were lying on thin air. Their hands still clamped firmly to the gem, not even tempted to let go.

Jackson was just about to think what would happen next when suddenly they were flying, flying through what looked like a rainbow-colored inside of a cyclone. They were both spinning upwards, screaming to the top of their lungs, frightened half to death. Their hands were still clinging onto the gem, almost magnetically.

"What is going on?" cried out Cocoa. "I have no idea!" hollered Jackson, who was looking all around and back at Cocoa, "But whatever you do, don't let go of the gem!" No sooner did he say this than he noticed Cocoa's hands starting to lose their grip. Apparently the struggle they had before weakened it. Jackson was about to let loose one of his hand to grip his sister's arm, but Cocoa couldn't hold on much longer, and let go of the gem.

Jackson reacted quickly by grasping one of Cocoa's wrists, and he tried his best in pulling his sister's hand back to the gem, his other hand still glued to the gem. Her fingers were just barely scratching the jewel did something else happen. A huge vibration just came out of nowhere, as if they were behind someone doing a sonic boom. The shock shook Jackson's grip loose from his sister. He screamed out to his sister as she drifted away, a look of complete panic in her face, her arm still reaching out. They had one last look at each other, then there was a burst of white light, and everything was gone.


	2. A New World! Enter Sonic and Tails!

**Chapter 1: The Mysterious Land**

Jackson felt dizzy. His mind was moving at a slow pace, making it hard to recollect everything that happened. Then Jackson's mind was starting to fit in all the pieces of what just happened. The gem, the struggle, the strange cyclone, and then Cocoa disappearing.

He opened his eyes. The sunlight nearly blinded him. Jackson shielded his eyes, pausing for a second so his body could adjust, and then he sat up. He shook his head and looked around. He seemed to be in a clearing. Was he still in his training spot? His eyes adjusted to the sunlight and looked around a little better. He could easily notice that it wasn't the same one. The plant-life was all different, nothing he had ever seen on the island. Jackson felt dazed and confused. Wasn't he on the island? He felt something in his right hand. Looking down at it, he could see the strange little gem still clutched in his hand. He could also see his machete still attached to his belt buckle. Looks like everything he had was still with him, except…

He leapt to his feet and looked all around once again. There was no sign of Cocoa. He yelled out her name a few times, trying to get a response, but no luck. Jackson became worried about her, wondering what happened to her when she disappeared into that white light. Jackson thought it through, trying to think of what happened to her, each assumption being crazier than the next. Finally, he shook his head, trying to get all the horrible visions he had about her, and forced himself to think one thing; that maybe she landed somewhere not too far away, and that she couldn't respond because she was unconscious. Determined on this thought, he walked right into the jungle to look for her.

The jungle was dense, even more so than the island jungle. It was surrounded by plant-life that Jackson never saw, some even the book didn't even describe. Jackson was looking every which-way not only to find his sister, but also to examine anything and everything around him. Most of it did look familiar to him, but there were some plants that were very unusual. He saw one that had brown leaves and a light green tree trunk. He also saw one whose leaves looked like green puffy clouds. The more Jackson looked around, the more he realized how hungry he was. He wished he ate more at breakfast, and searched for anything edible.

He noticed an odd looking tree that looked sort of crooked to one side, and hanging from its branches were large pieces of fruit the size of basketballs. They had the shape of a pear. Even though the fruit looked delicious, Jackson was wary, considering the fact that he didn't know what kind of fruit it was, and whether it was poisonous or not. After a long contemplation with himself, his hunger overtook him, and he decided to eat one. He took one off of one of the branches. It had quite a weight to it for a fruit, and it explained why the tree was crooked. He hesitated at first, and then took a bite out of it. It didn't taste bad at all. In fact, it tasted really good. He sat down and ate it until he got to the core.

Feeling refreshed and full of energy, he continued on into the jungle, his mind still on Cocoa and that tasty fruit. On an on he went, looking every which way he could to find his sis. The jungle was getting denser and denser and he went on. He pulled out his machete, pocketed the gem, and started to hack through the branches and plants so he could make a path. He kept going and going, regardless of the cuts and dirt from the leaves. Finally, he swiped a few more times to cut through some thick plants and found himself gazing at the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

He was standing upon a ridge that seemed to encircle into a crescent, surrounding a small jungle down below. Further to the right of Jackson, there was a large waterfall, which spilled its' essence into a pool down below. A swarm of funny looking birds were flying overhead, hanging out in groups of three. But beyond the entire jungle, there was a massive plain, patterned with different colors of green. But the most amazing thing of all was of what laid beyond it. It was a city. An actual filled with buildings, skyscrapers, and hopefully, people.

Jackson just stood there with his mouth gaping open. An expression of complete awe and happiness struck his face. He looked down at the pocket for which he stuffed the gem in. How far did this thing take him? It really confused him, but what excited him was that there were probably people, someone to get help from, and somewhere where he, and Cocoa if he found her, would be able to get real food and clothing. At this, Jackson thought that he started to sound like his sister when he thought about the clothing part. He had to hurry up and find his sister.

He stood up. He suddenly heard a rustling from behind him. Thinking his luck would favor him, and that would be Cocoa coming out, he turned. It brought Jackson's heart to a halt, for it was not Cocoa. A gigantic plant was behind him; its head was nothing more than a bulb with a mouth, a mouth with sharp, red teeth. Its' stem looked as long as an anaconda, and it moved like one too. That was the scariest part of all; it was moving. The stem seemed to maneuver itself around the trees. Its' jaws was opening and closing, saliva was dripping from its' mouth. Even though it did not have any eyes, it somehow sensed Jackson's presence, and was slowly bringing his head towards him.

Jackson was petrified to the core. He had never seen any sort of plant so big and alive. He did read about plants like the Venus Fly Trap, but by the looks of this plant, it ate more than just bugs. This also explained the reason why he didn't see any animals around. He wanted to get away, but he was trapped between it and the ridge. He had one second of seeing it raise its' head, its' jaws open wide, and then…it longed!

Jackson reacted the best way he could. He leapt to the left, watching as the snake-like plant hurled ever so closely to him, its' mouth chomped on thin air. Jackson instantly held the blade of his machete straight up, grasped the hilt with both hands, and brought it down onto the plant's stem, slicing his head off. The stem flailed around, green juice spilling out of it. Ew. Plant blood. The head fell on the ground with a great FUMP! The mouth lagged open, the saliva oozed out of it. Jackson didn't waist any time after seeing this. He took off, wondering if Cocoa met something like this too, and hopefully took care of it.

On an on he charged through the jungle, not even daring looking back. He was freaked out from what he saw, and he hoped with all of his might that he wouldn't see another one. He, of course, was wrong. For within a second of that thought he saw more entwined vines, and about a dozen or so more of those man-eating plants, staring at him. They didn't even waist a second upon his arrival, and started to lunge one after another.

Jackson, though frightened, was not willing to die like this. He darted past the fang-mouthed plants, avoiding their heads, leaping and ducking through their vine-like stems. He kept his sword handy, slicing through the stems that got in the way. One of the plants came out of nowhere, and charged directly at Jackson. He held out his blade in front of him, and with the force of his speed, he sliced the plant's head clean down the middle. A deluge of its' stem juice came dripping down from the remains of the plant. A bit of it drenched Jackson, which smelled like rotten fruit. Disgusting. He wrinkled up his nose and kept going. The remaining plants that could move chased after Jackson, wanting to chomp on him. Jackson kept running, not even noticing where he was going, only wanting to give a wide birth from those carnivorous plants.

He found himself darting towards the edge of the jungle. He came out of it at full pelt. He was nearly out of breath, and he felt a stitch in one of his lungs, but he kept running. He turned around to expect his pursuers to still follow him, but they stopped at the edge of the jungle. One tried to spring out, but it recoiled with a screech and darted back into the shadows. Jackson guessed that they didn't enjoy the sunlight, but he was grateful for that. He had hoped for his troubles to be over from then on, but yet again he was surely mistaken.

Jackson didn't notice where his feet were taking him, and he suddenly found himself running down a steep hill. He couldn't control himself, and his feet gave way. He started to tumble down the hill, flipping every which-way. One of his feet caught itself upon a rock. Jackson heard a SNAP and felt excruciating pain. His ankle broke. He was still tumbling, yelling in pain. He flipped off the hill and fell into a bunch of plants, which seemed to comfort his fall.

Jackson sat up right. He clutched his ankle and howled in pain. There were tears in his eyes, unable to bear the feeling in his ankle. He was unable to walk, and his pain made him unable to move either. He felt like he was in a hopeless case. He hollered with all his might for help, but it was no good. He couldn't do anything but cry. He wished he found Cocoa instead of hurting himself, he wished mom and dad were with him. He wished someone could help him at all.

For a while Jackson just curled up and cried, his ankle still nagging him. After a while, Jackson's ear perked up. He thought he heard something. He lifted his head, trying to get his ears focused on what the sound was. He heard it a little more clearly this time. It was the sound of something that he hadn't heard in a long time. Propellers. It was the sound of a plane. He looked up towards the sky and tried to find the source of that sound, but his eyes were tear-soaked. Rubbing his eyes so he could see more clearly, he looked up again. There, sure enough, was a small plane. It was flying low, so Jackson could see it better. It was a biplane, considering it had four wings. It had red painting on it, with a yellow stripe on each side.

Jackson was overjoyed to see someone who could help him, but he had no idea how to get the pilot's attention, especially since he was in the shadows of the plants. He suddenly had an idea. The gem. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He held it to the sky as far as he could reach, and started to wave it around, thinking that the sunlight will reflect it, and that the people in the plane would notice.

Up in the plane, and out of Jackson's hearing range, voices could be heard. "I think I'm getting a reading," said one voice. "You sure?" asked another voice. "We've already passed this place a little while ago!" "The readings are positive," the first voice replied. "It's definitely a Chaos Emerald." "Hey, I think I see something from down below!" said the second voice. "It looks like somebody is there, and he is waving something. You think it could be the Emerald?" "Most likely," said the first voice. "I'm gonna bring her down to the ground. Hang on."

From the ground, Jackson could see that the plane was slowly descending down. They noticed him, he was gonna be saved! Oh, how the tides do change for our little hero.

There came a rustling of trees the opposite side of him. Jackson turned at the sound of the noise. Could it be Cocoa at long last? An instant later, Jackson concluded that it couldn't be her, cause he also heard trees knocking over, and heavy footsteps as well. He figured it might be a large, and hopefully gentle, animal coming his way. Well, Jackson got the large part right.

The footsteps seem to come closer, the footprints heavy and hard. There were birds flying into the sky so they could get out of the way. A weird whistling sound could be heard from noises, too. All of a sudden, the trees parted way, revealing the last thing that Jackson would ever expect. Robots. Huge, metallic, and scary robots. There must have been about ten of them. They looked highly armored. They had arms, too, and hands almost five times the size of Jackson's arms. Their legs were well built, and looked as if they could crush a large boulder by stepping on it. The didn't have noses or mouths, but each of them did have one, laser red eye, making them look even more menacingly.

They were still making that metallic whistling and clicking noises, as if they were speaking in a language that Jackson could not understand. All eyes were staring at Jackson, particularly at his left hand where he held the gem. The closest robot to Jackson stomped towards him, until it was right on top of him. It looked down at him, its' gaze petrified Jackson once again to the core. Its' arm started to reach down towards him. It looked like it could break more than his leg. He closed his eyes, waiting for the moment to happen.

Something came rushing down from the plane. It curved around and hit the robot in the eye. It stumbled back and then toppled over. The other robots stared down at their comrade, then at what hit the robot. Jackson squinted so he could see what hit the robot. All he could see was that it had blue, spiky hair, and then it rushed towards the robot at an incredible speed.

Jackson opened his eyes more so he could see what was happening. The thing that saved him was moving so fast, it turned into a blue blur. It sped around the robots, knocking them into each other. The robots tried to catch it, but their arms didn't move fast enough to catch it. The plane came hurdling down at the robot, and started to shoot at the robots with a machine gun. The bullets hit the robots, but it seems to just bounce off them. Regardless of that, it distracted them, giving the blue blur a good time to knock them down.

Jackson was completely amazed by this site of heroism. He was so amazed however, that he didn't noticed the first robot stand up and confronted him again. It was meters away before Jackson heard him. He turned to see the robot stomping towards him once again. He tried to move, but his ankle wouldn't let him. He picked up his sword and threw it at the machine, but it merely bounce off him as well, only leaving a small scratch on its' armor. The robot was on top of him once again, and started to reach out at him. Jackson shielded his face with his arms, the gem still clutched in his hands. "Leave me alone!" cried Jackson.

It was almost like the gem was waiting to get a response from Jackson. It glowed brightly once again, along with its' high-pitched hum. It glowed a lot brighter, and then it just shot out a burst of light at the machine. It punctured a hole right through the robot, and kept going until the beam glimmered and disappeared. The gem reverted back to its' soft glowing form again. Jackson looked up to see what had happened. The burst of energy formed a hole through the robot, its' insides nothing but split wires and broken parts.

The minute Jackson saw this, the robot couldn't contain it anymore, and it exploded. The impact sent Jackson flying through the air, carrying the gem, his sword, and bits and pieces of the robot with him. He skidded across the ground until his head hit a large rock. The collision sent white lights into Jackson's eyes. He fell face first into the ground, just barely able to keep consciousness. The gem slipped out of his hand, his sword laid close to Jackson's fuzzy eyesight, only able to notice that the handle had broken off. Jackson was on the verge of going black again. The blue thing that attacked the other robots stopped in front of him. Jackson couldn't see his face. He wished he knew who, or what, he was. The last thing he could see was a white-gloved hand reach out to him, and then he was gone.

**Chapter 2: Sonic and Tails**

Jackson felt sore all over. His mind could only muster up one question: _why do I always end up like this? This is the third time I remember being unconscious like this._ He slightly shifted his body. He noticed that what he was lying on wasn't the hard ground, but something soft and comfy. He could also feel something like that supporting his head as well. He also felt something drenched over Jackson's body, and it felt so much like a blanket, made of a fuzzy material. Was he in a bed? A real one?

He opened his eyes. Everything seemed foggy at first, and the room spun with his dizziness. He pulled his arms out from under the warm blanket and rubbed his eyes. The first thing he noticed, looking to one side, was a small wooden nightstand. It had a lamp on top of it, along with a wet towel and a bowl of water. It took Jackson a little while to figure out what this meant. He turned onto his back and slowly sat up. The pain in his head was throbbing. Putting one of his hands to his head, he noticed that his forehead was wrapped with some sort of bandaging. _How did that get there?_ He wondered. Looking around, he noticed that this wasn't the forest.

He was indeed lying on top of a bed, a blue-sheeted one. The floor was made up of wooden planks set up neatly and sturdy. Across from him, Jackson could see a wooden dresser, a table with jumbled up items lying across it. Across from that was something that made Jackson's eyes bulge. It was a computer, and it was so large and so hi-tech like, that Jackson almost believed it was alive like those robots he saw before. He tried to get out of bed. "Ouch!" cried Jackson. He had completely forgotten about his ankle injury. He lifted the sheets to reveal his bottom half. The place where he got hurt was all bandaged up and strapped with two large splints. _Someone mended my leg. _He wondered, _Someone must've saved me from that place. Was it the blue-haired person?_

There was a knocking sound from behind. Jackson turned to see a door right next to him on the opposite side of the nightstand. "Hello?" said a voice on the other side of the door. The voice was that of a sort of gruff-like kid's voice. _An actual person! _Jackson thought with amazement. _Someone who actually speaks my language!_ "Hello?" said the voice again, "Are you awake in there?" Jackson didn't know what to say at first, not knowing who his company might be, but considering that they must be nice people for saving him, he replied "Sure am!" The door started to open as the voice said, "That's good to hear. You sure gave us a fright when we found you there." The person speaking stepped in, and Jackson went into shock.

The person wasn't anything that Jackson expected. It wasn't even human. It was an animal, with yellowish fur and a white belly. It was about as tall as Jackson. It wore shoes, which were red and white, and wore gloves on his hands, also white. Its' eyes were the color of the sky, and he had small whiskers and cat-like ears. The weirdest feature, however, was his tail, or rather tails. There were two of them, with white furry tips on the ends of them. If he had to guess, Jackson would say that it looked like a two-legged, talking fox.

Something in Jackson's face made the creature show an expression of concern. "Are you ok?" asked the creature. Jackson got a bigger jolt when it spoke up. He started to panic, scurrying away from the creature, yelped in pain, and toppled backwards onto the opposite side of the bed. He hit his head again, and stars were dancing all around Jackson's brain. The footsteps of the creature seem to rush over to Jackson's side. "Hey, take it easy!" said the creature as he reached down to lift Jackson up, "Your head and ankle injuries are still mending, and I don't want you to get injured again."

He got Jackson to sit on the edge of the bed, where he tried to focus once again. He cleared his mind, thinking what he saw was a dream, looked to see the creature supporting him, and recoiled in fright. This was no dream, and he wasn't delusional. "Wh-who are you?" was the first thing Jackson could stammer out. The creature backed off a couple steps so he could give Jackson some space. "I'm sorry, my name is Miles Prower, but my friends call me Tails." At this, Jackson was even more scared than he was before. _This thing has friends?_ He wondered.

The next thing that came to Jackson's mouth was, "Wha-what in the world are you?" The creature named Tails gave an expression of complete bemusement. "What do you mean by that?" said Tails. "Well," started Jackson, trying to be more polite than nervous, "Its just that I-I've never seen anything like you before, ever!" Tails looked even more confused than before as he replied, "Really? That's very peculiar." He thought for a second before asking, "Where do you come from?"

Jackson thought about what to say and how to say it. "Well, I was on an island," Jackson started, "Just my sister and me, but then I found this little gem which somehow…" Then Jackson just remembered something. He searched all around him. "Wait, where's my sword?" asked Jackson, whose voice showed even more panic than before, "Where's my gem?" Tails smirked at Jackson as he said, "Oh, don't worry about that, your sword is right over there." He pointed towards a table next to the computer where, sure enough, the sword lay, though Jackson noticed something looked different about it. "The hilt of your sword broke, but I made a new one for you," said Tails as he walked over to pick up the sword, "I even sharpened your blade for you, it looked pretty dull." He handed over the sword to Jackson. Jackson grabbed the hilt, which was made out of some sort of steel, but it felt better than his wooden one, he could even grip it better.

"And as for the Chaos Emerald," replied a voice that came from behind, "You don't need to worry about that, it's in a safe place." Jackson turned his head towards the door. Standing there was another creature. Jackson almost started to panic until he noticed it had blue, spiky hair. It was the thing that saved him from those robots. It had blue fur, except for his mouth, belly and arms, which were peach. He had slim legs with red shoes with white stripes. He also wore white gloves like Tails, but his ears were not as big as Tails. His tail was tiny, and he had green eyes. His hair, though spiky, had sort of a wind-swept look to it. When he spoke, it made Jackson think of him as a spirited young teen with a sense of adventure.

He walked around the bed towards Tails. "Well, I can see the kid is up an about." He said, staring at Tails then at Jackson, "I also heard that little tumble you took off the bed. You alright?" Jackson's first thought was not to reply, but seeing as this was the thing that saved him from the giant robots, he had to say something. "Uh, yeah, I think so," said Jackson, rubbing at the part of his head he fell on, thought for a second and then added "Thanks for helping me out there in the jungle." The creature scratched his nose and replied, "No problem. All in a days work."

"Those E-bots were after the Chaos Emerald you had," said Tails, stepping forward so Jackson could notice him, "If we hadn't detected the Emerald, you probably wouldn't be here." Jackson thought of those huge arms those robots had, gulped, and thought how glad he was being saved by something that wasn't gonna kill him…yet. He turned to the blue creature. "So who are you, anyway?" he asked. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself before." replied the creature. He raised his arm and brought it down into a thumbs-up as said, "My name is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

This got Jackson even more confused than before. "You're a hedgehog?" Jackson asked, giving off a glazed look at Sonic, "I've never seen a hedgehog like you before." Sonic's grin went into a perplexed look. "Really?" he asked, "I mean I know I'm a one of a kind sort of person, but I shouldn't be that unusual compared to other hedgehogs."

"Well, I've seen other hedgehogs before," said Jackson, trying his best not to make his voice sound rude, "but they are smaller, more brown, and they don't speak." At this, Sonic gave an expression of total bewilderment. "You sure you're ok, kid?" He asked, about to put his hand on Jackson's head, but Jackson shook it off. "Of course I am!" replied Jackson irritably, annoyed by Sonic's comment, and he added, "I'm just telling you what I know. I have no idea what you are, nor what Tails is either." He grasped his head, now getting a headache, "Ow…my head. It's so confusing."

During the conversation between Jackson and Sonic, Tails had his hand at his chin, obviously thinking about something. He finally spoke up. "Hey, Sonic?" he asked, "I'm listening to what he is saying, and based on what I heard, and on the data I got while scanning his body, I came to the conclusion that this kid is most likely not even part of this _world_!"

At this, Sonic jumped back in surprise, completely in shock. "What?!" he exclaimed, amazed by this suggestion. However, no one in the vicinity was more shocked than Jackson. A look of complete surprise filled his face. A different world? Really? How was that even possible? He could not figure it out. He never thought there was life beyond outer space.

"Tails, you've been reading too many science books!" continued Sonic, "You sure your not delusional?" "Positive," he replied, walking over to the huge computer. He turned it on and started to type rapidly on his keyboard. "When I scanned this kid before, I thought there was an malfunction in the system. However, I checked the equipment, and there was nothing wrong with it. I even scanned him again, and the readings were the same. There is no doubt that this kid went through some sort of time-space fluctuation."

Tails turned back to Jackson, who still had that expression of complete amazement. "May I ask how did you get the Emerald in the first place?" he asked. Jackson stared out of focus for a short while, but then he shook his head, understanding what he was just asked, and started to speak. He went on to tell about how he saw a bunch of shooting stars that night, how he saw the one that seemed so close above him, how he went to find it, and also of the struggle between he and his sister for the gem. Then he told about the gem lighting up, and about the rainbow-colored cyclone that he and his sister went through, but by the time he got to the point where he lost sight of Cocoa, he grew silent, wondering if his sister was ok.

Sonic was silent as well, his eyes were closed and his hand was rubbing his chin, as if he was pondering about something. Tails started to type away very quickly on his keyboard, obviously trying to figure something that Jackson said. He finally stopped typing, but was reading something on the screen of the computer. He turned to Sonic, who woke up from his moment of thought. "I believe that this kid had experienced a unusual phenomenon called a Chaos Portal." Both Jackson and Sonic looked confused. "A Chaos…Portal?" asked Sonic. "Yes," replied Tails, pulling up something out of his computer. Based on Jackson's point of view, he could see a picture of an odd looking funnel, with two wide ends and the middle being the thin area.

"You see, a Chaos Portal is a very rare phenomenon, and they are only found in certain areas. They are a type of rip through the time-space continuum, where it instantly transports you from a very long distance, most likely from planet to planet." Jackson was having a hard time understanding what in the world he was saying, but he only continued to listen. "However, there are certain things that you need in order to activate them. First of which, you need a source of Chaos energy, which is what the Emeralds are made up of. Secondly, you need someone who is able to use the energy as well, otherwise the energy wouldn't activate it."

Tails finally tore his eyes away from the screen at stared at Jackson once again. "Based on what I can comprehend, it must have been you or your sister that caused the Emerald to activate." At these words, Sonic spoke up. "It must be this kid," he said, walking over and placing his arm on his shoulder. "I noticed that the E-bot I hit first was right on top of him, but before I could react, the Emerald he was holding lit up and blasted a hole through the robot. It must be him, its gotta be."

Jackson felt so amazed at how Sonic seemed to praise him in such a way. He, himself, wouldn't think that he could be able to do such thing, but now looking back at those moments when the Emerald lit up, it made sense. When he told his sister to let go, the Emerald brought him here, but he lost his sister in the vortex. And when the robot tried to get him, didn't he yell at it to get away from him, and the Emerald did it for him? Jackson thought it was his dumb luck, but not anymore.

Tails spoke up again, and he lost his train of thought. "If that's true, then this kid is capable of controlling the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic turned and grinned at Jackson. "Sounds like you're a special case, kiddo." He said. Jackson was getting tired of being called 'kid' and spoke up. "Actually, my name is Jackson." He said. "Well, Jackson," said Sonic as he went to a pair of closed curtains that Jackson didn't notice until now, "Welcome to Mobius, our home land." He opened them up, the sunlight bursting through like the Emerald did before. Jackson shielded his eyes for a second and saw the trees of a jungle and the big, blue sky. Tails walked over to pat Jackson's back. Sonic turned to Jackson and grinned at him, and Jackson, who stopped fearing them at last, smiled back.

**Chapter 3: Running & Recovering**

Jackson thought that he would never get use to the fact that both Sonic and Tails were not human, but somehow he was able to. He even thought the opposite, about how similar they were with him in every way. Despite looks, they acted and felt the same way he did. In fact, they made Jackson feel like they were a family. Tails explained to Jackson that because of his injured state, he wouldn't be able to leave for a few weeks. Jackson didn't mind, but he wished he would be able to get up so he could start searching for his sister. He told this to Tails, who replied by saying that because Cocoa let go moments before arrival, it's more likely that she too landed somewhere on this world, but was somewhere far away. Sonic asked what his sister looked like, saying that he could go look for her in his place. Jackson gave a full detailed analysis on what she looked like, and Sonic took off.

Jackson spent most of those few weeks just lying on the bed with his leg supported by another pillow on the other end. He felt bored just lying on the bed like that, but Tails and occasionally Sonic kept them company. Tails would usually come up to check on him, getting him food when he needed it. Jackson was thankful that he finally got some real food. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, sodas, all that stuff. Sonic even got Jackson his favorite food, chili-dogs, which were so delicious. Some of the fruits or vegetables that Jackson got were strange, but he figured out which ones were the good ones. One of the fruits that he got turned out to be the same fruit as he tasted in the jungle. Tails said that it was called a pecklery, and it was suppose to be smaller than the one he tasted. He also explained that the man-eating plants that chased him were called tentaculas, and were very dangerous. Jackson found that part out the hard way.

Tails explained a lot about their world, from the locations of special landmarks, to the people that lived around there. Apparently, the people, or rather creatures, that lived around were called Mobians. He showed pictures on his computer to Jackson, showing all kinds of creatures. Jackson concluded that they were sort of humanized creatures. There were not only hedgehogs and foxes like Sonic and Tails, but there were other creatures like alligators, bats, raccoons, echidnas, cats, and all other forms of animals. There were even some humans among them. Jackson was grateful for this because he didn't want to be the only human around here.

Jackson did wonder why he was more known as Tails instead of Miles. "I mean," he murmured, swallowing the last of his lunch, "I can understand that you have two tails, but are they of any significance?" At this, Tails chuckled. "As a matter of fact…" he started, and all of a sudden he started to twirl his tails around, and he started to float into the air, like a helicopter. Jackson nearly fell out of bed again at this. "…I find their significance very useful!" ended Tails. He laughed at the sight of Jackson's shocked expression.

Sonic would occasionally come back to see Jackson and Tails, either to see how Jackson was doing, or to report that he was unable to find Cocoa. This made Jackson skeptical, and he kept asking how far did he search. Sonic would always reply that he went all over Mobius, like from the plains of the Green Hills, to the coastline of Emerald Beach, and even searching the streets of Metrotropolis, all in one day. This made Jackson even more confused, as he couldn't understand how he searches all around that quickly, but he never asked him. After three weeks since his arrival, Jackson finally asked Sonic how he is able to look at so many places in so little time. Sonic merely grinned and replied, "Let me show you."

Tails helped Jackson out of bed and brought him down the stairs. The downstairs was mainly a garage, complete with tool benches, a couple of tables, some chairs, and all other kind of things. The first thing Jackson noticed when they got downstairs was the plane that he saw from earlier. Tails told him about it before, saying that he called it the Tornado. The next thing that Jackson noticed was a large container, and in it stood his gem, or rather the Chaos Emerald. He did ask why it was known as an emerald; since it wasn't green as a real emerald was suppose to be. Tails replied that the Chaos Emeralds are different, and that there are seven of them, each of them a different color, but all of them have special powers. If all seven were together, a miracle would happen. Jackson wondered what kind of miracle would happen.

Tails had Jackson leaned over the table while he went to get something for Jackson. The pain in his ankle was still painful, but not as painful as it was the first time. Jackson waited for a minute until Tails came out with a wheelchair. Jackson was glad to get out of the bed and get out into the open. Before he was wheeled out, Tails gave Jackson a pair of goggles. "What do I need these for?" he asked. Tails merely chuckled and said, "You'll soon find out."

Sonic was waiting outside, his arms crossed and his foot tapping on the ground. "What took you so long?" he asked as Tails pushed Jackson outside, "I went and warmed up by going around the forest twice." Jackson found this unbelievable as they were gone for only a couple minutes. "You ready to go?" Sonic asked Jackson. He nodded, and he put on the goggles, regardless of his disbelief that he needed them. Tails pushed him into placed, and let Sonic take the handlebars of the wheelchair. He waited till he had a good grip, and then he took off.

At one second they were just standing still, the next second both he and Sonic were racing through a blur of colors. They were going so fast, that it made Jackson's eyes water even through the goggles. The speed was intense, and all that could be heard was the rush of the wind and the pattering of Sonic's feet as he rushed to who knows where. All Jackson could do was close his eyes and grasp the chair for dear life. Sonic must've noticed this because within twenty seconds since takeoff, he shouted, "Open your eyes, Jackson!" Jackson really didn't want to cause he didn't want to watch them crash into anything. "Don't worry, Jackson," cried out Sonic, as if he knew what Jackson was thinking, "It's pretty fun once you get use to it."

Jackson only thought for a second, and then he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that Jackson saw was the rushing colors all around him, which made him think of the time in the Chaos Portal. Then as he looked all around him, he suddenly realized something; all of his fears were gone. The wind swept all around him, the feel of every twist and turn as Sonic avoided obstacles, it was so enthralling. Somehow, this speed and thrill didn't seem to scare Jackson at all. On the contrary, it was incredible, amazing, and intensifying all at the same time. He loved it; he really, really loved this feeling. Once a scared face at the start, Jackson's expression was changed to enjoyment. He even let out a whoop of joy. He looked back to see Sonic with a grin on his face.

Jackson felt them go up something for a second, and then they skidded to a halt. Then Jackson let out an astonishing gasp. They were standing on top of a large mountain, gazing over the horizon. The plains, the ocean, everything seemed to be visible from where they were. The wind seemed to have grabbed the petals of a flower field from down below and carried them up to where they were. The sky was so blue and bright, and the clouds were so close, Jackson could touch them. He turned back to Sonic.

"This is so amazing," said Jackson. "Well, I hope you like it," said Sonic with a smile, "Cause you're probably gonna be here for a while." Jackson looked all around, thought of his home, the island he and Cocoa lived on, and compared it to where he was. "Well, it isn't like home." said Jackson bemusedly, "But I guess this place will do." He turned to Sonic again, smirked, and then both started to laugh out loud, which seemed to carry itself all around Mobius.

**Chapter 7: Eggman Appears**

It took a few weeks before Jackson was able to take off the bandages. It took another week to actually walk on his own two feet. When he was able to, He leapt for joy; he even did a full lap of the house, for which Sonic did it fifty times just to show off.

Tails took the liberty of getting Jackson some new clothes to replace his old raggedy ones. It contained a light blue shirt, a golden-yellow vest, a pair of jeans, some white socks, and a pair of white shoes with a yellow lightning bolt on each side. Jackson went into the bathroom to get changed, and came out in the full attire. "Now that looks really cool on you." Said Tails. "Thanks," replied Jackson, who made sure everything looked ok, then he added, "I really can't thank you guys enough for what you did for me." "Meh, no problem." said Sonic, who was leaning against the wall, "We're always glad to help out people in need, especially ones from different worlds."

Tails went over to his tool bench and grabbed something from it. "Here, I made this last night. I hope it fits you well." He was carrying a scabbard, with a leather shoulder strap that would wrap around him so he would his sword on his back. "Oh, wow!" gasped Jackson, "This is so cool! Thank you so much, Tails." He took it from his hands, went over to the closest mirror to him, and suited it onto him. He then placed his sword into it, which fitted perfectly.

"So now that your up and about," started Sonic, "what are you gonna do next?" Jackson just stood there looking at his reflection. He had been thinking about this question for a long time, but one answer always came up first. Finally, he answered, "I think I'll go look for my sister all on my own. I still don't know where she is, but I will go find her." Jackson could see from the reflection both Sonic and Tails look at each other with concerned looks.

"Jackson, I know you really want to see your sister again," said Tails with a hesitant voice, "but are you sure you want to do this all on your own?" "Yeah," added Sonic, standing up straight, "You just got better. You shouldn't be going on anything by yourself." Jackson turned to face them. "I know that." he said, feeling slightly hurt by their words, "But you guys already done so much to me, and I don't want to trouble you guys anymore about me." Both Sonic and Tails were giving worried looks as he went to get his bag of food that he packed the night before. He turned around, noticed the expressions on their faces, and sighed, "Look, I know I haven't really explored the outside world, but I have to find my sister, and who knows where she is."

"Of course someone does." interrupted Sonic, stepping forward so that he was between Jackson and the door, "Remember who has been searching for her while you were injured. She isn't around for miles." Jackson opened his mouth, but then he closed it. He did make a good point on that. "And besides," added Tails, getting up and next to Jackson, "It's like you said, this is an unexplored world for you. If you really want to do this by yourself, tell us how will you defend yourself from trouble when we aren't there? How will you fight the E-bots?" Jackson stood thinking at these words. He really didn't think of those robots, and Tails was right, he couldn't, "Your sword can only get you so far, Jackson," continued Tails, "This world is bigger than your little island. You shouldn't do things so recklessly."

Jackson fell back onto the seat. He forgot to put every bit and piece of detail together. He thought that, considering Cocoa was his sister, he would be able to take on this thing by himself. After hearing his two friends, he didn't know what to do. Tails walked over to Jackson and placed his arm on his shoulder. "Jackson, I know the truth hurts," he started, his voice full of sympathy for Jackson, "but you don't have to worry about us. We're always glad to help someone out." Sonic rushed to Jackson's other shoulder. "That's right," said Sonic, "Believe me when I say that if we work together, nothing can stop us."

Just then, a voice came out from outside. "Sonic!" called the voice, which was that of a female, "Are you here?" Sonic face went from grinning to terror faster than his speed. Based on his expression, Jackson guessed that there was something, or someone, that was able to stop him. "Oh, no." Moaned Sonic, stepping a few paces back to the back door. He turned to Jackson and Tails and asked, "Listen, if Amy asks where I'm at, tell her I went out a little while ago." And with that he dashed towards the back door, and disappeared without a trace. Jackson's face showed an expression of total bewilderment. "What was that all about?" he asked, turning to Tails. Tails sighed and replied, "You'll soon find out." Jackson turned to the garage door to see someone walking into view.

This person, or rather Mobian, was also a creature like the others. Due to Tails showing him all the different Mobians around, Jackson could tell that she was a female hedgehog. Her fur was pink, and she wore a red dress, with gold ring bracelets. Her shoes were red with a white stripe, sort of like Sonic's. Her hair was sort of like dreadlocks, and it had a hairband in it. When she turned to them, Jackson noticed her eyes were green.

"Hey, Amy." Said Tails, his nervous face trying to show a hint of pleasure at her arrival. "Hey there, Tails," replied the girl named Amy, "Have you seen Sonic?" "Sorry," replied Tails, trying not to look so nervous, "but he left a little while ago." Amy huffed; an expression of absolute disgruntlement crossed her. "Ohh, that Sonic," she barked, stamping her foot in anger, "He never around when I call out to him."

She turned from Tails to Jackson, and her expression changed. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't noticed your friend here." She walked up to Jackson, who's face was a little nervous, not from her looks, which didn't bother him after hanging around with Sonic and Tails a lot, but from her intro. Her face, however, softened as she looked at him. "So what might your name be?" she asked. Tails stepped in, as Jackson was completely without words, "This is our new friend Jackson. He was the kid from the different world that we told you about in the letter." "Oh, yeah." Amy commented, backing up and curtsying at him, "How do you do, Jackson. I am Amy Rose." "Nice to meet you," said Jackson, bowing slightly towards her.

Amy kept looking all over him. "You don't seem to be different from other human beings around here." remarked Amy, "In fact you're a lot like them." Jackson started to scratch the back of his head. "Should I take that as a compliment?" he asked Amy. Amy grinned and giggled at him. "That depends," she replied. Jackson didn't know what to think of her. She seemed to have a complex attitude. Jackson decided to ask the question that was confusing him. "So, why are you looking for Sonic?" he asked.

Amy gave Jackson a quizzical look. "What?" she said, "You mean Sonic hasn't told you about me?" Jackson shook his head. She sighed and shook her head as well. "Is he really that embarrassed to express his love to me around people?" moped Amy, turning around and walking a few paces towards the front door. Jackson heard, but didn't quite understand clearly what she was saying. "Huh?" was all that Jackson could say. Amy turned to him again with a big smile on her face. "Well it just so happens," she started, with an incredible amount of giddiness in her tone, "that Sonic is my boyfriend!"

Jackson's mouth dropped. He turned to Tails, hoping for some proof to this, but he only shook his head ever so slightly when Amy wasn't looking. "Uh," said Jackson stupidly, completely complexed at what to say next, "Well, that's, uh, cool." She turned back to Jackson and stated, "It's more than just cool, it's incredible!" She then sighed, "I remember the first time we met. Course it was a long time ago but seemed like love at first site when I met him. I know he must feel the same thing about me now." Jackson's cheeks went red. _Sonic? _He wondered. _The romantic type? I don't know about that._ He was just about to say something when Amy grabbed his arm. "I have an idea," she exclaimed, "lets find Sonic together. It'll be fun!" Jackson thought that this would be anything but fun as she dragged him outside, and he wondered if this day could get any weirder. It turns out it did.

They were barely ten yards away from the garage when suddenly something came flying out of the sky. It was a mechanical claw, and it grabbed itself around Amy. One shocked second, and then it retracted, reeling Amy, who was screaming, into the sky. Amy's hand released Jackson's, and Jackson only had time to say "What the…" before he looked up to see what got her. The claw came from what seemed to be a mechanical orb in the sky, and sitting in it was the first human Jackson seen in a long time. He was a stout man, and he wore a red coat with white stripes and yellow buttons. He also wore white glove, dark blue glasses, and a pair of goggles.

Tails came rushing out of the garage. "Hey, what happened?!" panicked Tails, but then he looked towards the place Jackson was staring at and growled, "Eggman!". The man whooped in laughter. "Well, look what I have here," he exclaimed sarcastically, staring down at Amy who was struggling in the mechanical claw, "The catch of the day!" Then he angled his head towards Tails and Jackson. "Hello, my foxy little friend." greeted the man sinisterly, "And hello to you too, child." Tails continued to growl at him, but Jackson was at a loss for words for a second, but he eventually said, "Wha…Who are you?" At this, the man looked shocked beyond belief. "WHAT?!" he shouted, completely surprised, "You mean you have no idea who I am?" Jackson shook his head. "Of course not, I'm not really from this wor-." At this, Tails instantly covered Jackson's mouth to silence him and whispered, "Don't tell him that!" But the man deduced the last word he was about to say.

"Really?" questioned the man, "You mean to tell me that you are a human from a different world?" Tails drooped his head, and Jackson realized he said too much. "Well, I guess that's the reason why you had a Chaos Emerald with you when my Eggbots found you in the woods." Said the man with a sinister grin. Jackson, flabbergasted by this info, removed Tails' hand from his mouth and exclaimed, "Those…those were your robot?" "Of course," said the man, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Doctor Eggman, evil genius extraordinaire."

_Evil?_ Jackson's face went from shock to serious. He pulled out his sword and gripped it tightly, ready to go on the offense. Jackson's instincts always told him to suppress any evil, no matter how big or small. "Well if that's the case," growled Jackson, "Then why don't you just let go of Amy right now." Eggman whooped with laughter again, which made the aircraft hobble a little. "You got spunk kid, I'll give you that!" he complimented to Jackson, "But how are you gonna stop me? With that little toy sword?" "Hey!" barked Tails, "Don't make fun of Jackson like that!" "No one treats my friends like that!" agreed Amy, who was still struggling with no results, "So put me down now, or Sonic will come here and scramble you!" Eggman merely chuckled. "I'd like to see him try today," sneered Eggman, "I bet he won't even show up." "And just who isn't gonna show up?" came a voice.

Jackson looked up to see Sonic standing on top of the roof of the house. "Sonic!" chimed Jackson and Tails. "Oh, Sonic!" cried Amy, who had stopped struggling and stared at Sonic with a transfixed, loving expression. Sonic was smirking as he stared at Eggman, who did the exact same thing back. "Well if it isn't the spiny little hedgehog, here to save the day again." Said Eggman with that sinister smirk on his face. "Nice to see you, Eggman." Said Sonic, emphasizing his name with a sarcastic voice. "Hey," cried Amy, looking frustrated at the lack of being noticed, "Why don't you stop chatting up good times, and just come rescue me." "Don't worry, Amy." sighed Sonic, who began to scratch the inside of his ear, "This won't take long." He stopped scratching and looked up at Eggman again.

"Oh, but we have all the time in the world, buddy." Said Eggman, "Now hand over the Chaos Emerald you found!" "Not likely," declined Sonic, "Why don't you just drop Amy, and let us see where we go from there." "If you want her," sneered Eggman, hovering back over the treetops, "Come and get her!" Sonic chuckled. "I was hoping you'd say that," Said Sonic, positioning himself to jump. Jackson was wondering if he should help, but he didn't see how. All of a sudden, Sonic leapt into the air and suddenly turned into a spinning ball, then he rushed through the air like a shooting star towards Eggman.

Jackson turned to see Eggman's smile widen, then he pressed some sort of button. Within a moment, something came out of the canopy of the treetops. It was another machine, and it looked like a hovering claw. It moved into position, standing between Sonic and Eggman. Sonic charged towards it, believing it wouldn't stand a chance, and Jackson was thinking the same thing.

However, the machine started up, sparks were coming from its' claws, and all of sudden an energy beam came blasting from it. It looked like Sonic and the beam were on a collision course, but instead of blasting through, the beam stopped and created a type of energy orb around Sonic. Sonic was still spinning, but was stuck in midair. Tails and Jackson gasped. No matter how hard he pushed, Sonic was unable to move. Sonic stopped spinning, and was still hanging in the air, his face full of fear and confusion.

"Sonic!" cried Amy, but Eggman whooped in laughter again. "Well, how do like my little present?" asked Eggman. Jackson stepped forward. "What did you do to him?" he asked. "Nothing," replied Eggman, "unless you count surrounding him with my polarity beam as doing something." "A polarity what?!" questioned Jackson. "It's a gravitational field." murmured Tails, shocked at what happened, "It acts sort of like a force field. It focuses all gravity towards the center of an object, or in this case Sonic, therefore the object can't move anywhere." "Bravo, my little foxy friend!" complimented Eggman, giving Tails a round of applause, "It seems your IQ is still as well as ever, but it is nothing compared to my superior intellect."

Jackson was starting to get real annoyed by this man's attitude, and stepped towards him. "Let Sonic go right now, or you'll be sorry!" He bellowed at Eggman. Sonic turned towards Jackson, still floating in the air and said, "No Jackson! Don't do anything stupid!" Eggman chuckled once more. "He's right, for once." he said, grinning at Jackson's frustrated face, "What can you actually do, besides swing that toy blade around?" Jackson clenched his fist, angered even further by these words. "However," continued Eggman, "Since I'm a sympathetic fellow, I'm willing to release these two back to you…in exchange for the Chaos Emerald!" Jackson was shocked. This man was carrying hostages, and he was blackmailing Tails and him in exchange for their lives.

Tails stopped growling, but continued to look frustrated at the situation. Finally, he started to say, "All right, Eggman. Were willing to…" but Jackson cut him in mid-sentence. "No way, no how!" he shouted, "We won't accept to your demands!" Both Tails and Sonic looked shocked at the words coming from Jackson, completely in disbelief at Jackson's conviction. Even Eggman stopped chuckling and looked curiously at Jackson. "That's tough talk coming from a short stack like you." said Eggman, "But tell you what. I'm willing to give you two hours to accept my demands, or else…" "Or else what?" questioned Jackson. "Or else you'll never see these two alive again." threatened Eggman, and burst into laughter as he started to float away, carrying Amy and Sonic with him. "Tails, help us!" cried out Amy. "We're counting on you, Tails!" said Sonic. Tails looked up at them as they were carried away, and nodded. A moment later, they were gone.

Tails turned to Jackson. "Jackson, why would you go open your mouth like that?" he asked, "Eggman's not someone to take lightly." "Like I was gonna let things go his way!" retorted Jackson, "I'm sorry, but I just won't allow that." Tails and Jackson glared at each other for a little while, then Tails sighed, "Well the situation can't be undone. I better start up the Tornado." He rushed into the garage, and hopped into the cockpit. Jackson followed him.

"Let me come along as well," he asked. "No way," said Tails, trying to start up the airplane, "It is way too dangerous for you." "But Amy and Sonic are my friends, too!" begged Jackson, "I want to help." Tails turned to Jackson once more and replied, "You can help by getting the Chaos Emerald for me, and staying behind." Jackson was surprised by these words, and started to grit his teeth. Tails was actually gonna accept defeat, just give up like that? No way, thought Jackson, that is never gonna happen.

Jackson rushed over to where the Chaos Emerald laid, grabbed it, and rushed past the plane outside. Tails stood up in the cockpit and watched him. "Jackson!" shouted Tails over the sound of the starting propellers, "Where are you going?" Jackson merely glared back at Tails and replied, "I'm going to save my friends, the right way!" Jackson continued to run into the forest, towards the direction Eggman went. "Wait!" cried Tails, but too late. Jackson was already in the jungle, with his ambition set, and his sword ready for action. Jackson was saved by them before, so now it was time to return the favor.


	3. A Hero is Born! Jackson the Swordsman!

**Chapter 1: The Grand Blade**

Jackson continued to rush on, passing through the low hanging branches as he went, scratching his face. He didn't care about them, he kept charging towards the direction Eggman went, all the while thinking about his friends. The voices of his friends kept echoing in his head; "You shouldn't do anything by yourself," "You shouldn't do things so recklessly," "What can you actually do, besides swing that toy blade around?" The words went through his mind continuously. _They're wrong!_ thought Jackson, _I can do something._

Jackson was so transfixed on these thoughts, he accidentally tripped on a root, making him fall and skid on the ground. He laid there for a while, tears in his eyes. He knew deep down that they were right. He was pretty much useless to them. _What can I do to help?_ he thought, sitting up so he could wipe his tears, _I couldn't even save my sister in the Chaos Portal. What good am I to anyone?_ He just sat there, thinking these sort of thoughts.

Then suddenly, he thought of a moment in the past, where he was kneeling on the ground, his eyes full of tears, and his sister standing above him. "You big crybaby!" she said, "Stop acting so selfishly! If you want to prove to me that you strong, then get up and keep trying!" He saw Amy's face, then Sonic and Tails, "Believe me when I say that if we work together, nothing can stop us!" said Sonic. Jackson removed his hand from his face. "They're right," thought Jackson, "I shouldn't give up just yet. I won't give up on my friends, not now, not ever!" He got onto his feet, preparing to run. "Sonic, Tails, and Amy. Look out, cause I'm coming to help."

He only just took a few steps when out of nowhere, an shock of pain went through Jackson's mind. It was only there for a second, but then it disappeared. Jackson stopped dead, rubbing his head from the pain. "Where'd that come from?" he wondered. But that wasn't the only thing that he was wondering. Something popped into his head, coming from nowhere. He did not know where it came from, but it told him to go to the right of where he was. Jackson turned to his right, looking through the jungle. Off in the distance, Jackson could barely see something. It looked like a huge boulder. Jackson had no idea the significance it brought onto him, but he decided to follow his instincts, as they were rarely wrong in his book.

He dashed towards the boulder, which became clearer and clearer as he got close to it. He stopped just close to it, cause it was no ordinary boulder. He was standing in front of what looked like one of those Aztec pyramids that he had read in one of the books, only there was no entrance to a room above the stairs, but there were four pillars standing in a square, with what looked like archways connecting each of them. The ruins were crumbled and mossy, but mostly intact. Jackson was in amaze as to what he was looking at. He wondered what was up there. Could there be something up there that could help him? he wondered. He ran up the stairs, racing to the top.

When he got there, he noticed that there wasn't anything much up there. Besides the pillars, there was an alter with a long thin hole in it, and a slab of rock. The alter had weird pictures drawn all around it, or were they words? Jackson couldn't understand it. He also noticed that the slab had something written on it as well. He knelt down to wipe away all the dust and moss off of it so he could read it better. He was lucky, for the text was in a language he could understand, and it seemed to be in a form of a poem.

_Only a heart who is young and pure_

_can destiny decide and then allure._

_A blade so rough, but made so fine_

_shall be proven more than just divine._

_For believing that unity is better than one_

_thou truly knows what must be done._

_To place the blade to where it must go_

_and you may stop most any foe._

_But be warned, my child, the power is great,_

_the path you choose shall seal your fate._

Jackson just knelt there, looking at the slab, then at the alter, then at the hole, then back to the slab. Jackson didn't quite get it, but somehow the words seem to impact him deeply. He stood up, continuing to look at the alter as he absentmindedly took out his sword. He held it out straight in front of him. The blade of the sword looked just about the right size to fit into the hole, but was he really the one this slab talked about? He wasn't from this world, how could he be the one? But something compelled him, saying to do it anyway, almost like the thought that brought him here. He walked up to the alter, and stood with the hole right between his feet. He gripped the sword with both of his hands, the tip of the blade pointing directly at the ground. He gave one last thought on what would happen if he wasn't the one, took a deep breath, and plunged the sword into the hole.

For a moment, there was no movement whatsoever, except for wavering of dust as the sword went in, and then a burst of light came shooting out of the alter itself, surrounding Jackson within it. The light was excruciating, he let go of his sword in order to shield his eyes. He first felt a pain within him, as if he was being ripped apart, and then an overwhelming surge of energy, much like the Chaos Emerald's energy, coursing through his body. He felt it tingle inside him, taking shape with his own body. Even his bones were feeling it as well. The energy went along for what felt like minutes, until the burst of light halted its' presence, and everything was silent.

Jackson unshielded his eyes, only to see that he was wearing white fingerless gloves. Then as he looked at them, he slowly looked down to see that his whole feature changed before him. He first noticed his attire was different. He was now wearing a dark yellow shirt with a silver vest. His pants were long, silver as well, with a yellow stripe down each side. His shoes were blue, with two white stripes on each one. Even the texture of the clothes felt different, comfortable, yet somewhat sturdy. He also noticed that his height was different. He got taller, and he also felt more fit than before. He then looks at his sword, which dramatically changed.

It had a long blade, its' sheen was almost multicolored. The metal for which it was made out of was nothing like Jackson ever seen. the hilt was golden yellow, with soft padding where the grip was at. The hand-guard was thick and sturdy as well, and it was black where the blade met the hilt.

Jackson walked towards it, his arm raised out. He grabbed the sword and jerked it straight up. It came cleanly out of the hole without so much as a scratch on it. He held it straight out at first, getting the feel of his sword as he held it in his hand, and then held the blade upward, the sun's rays dancing upon it. He brought it down so to see the sword at eye level. _How could this just happen?_ he wondered, simply amazed at the sword. _What in the world just happened anyway?_

"I can tell you," said a young woman's voice. Jackson leapt in fright, not knowing where the voice came from, and started to circle around as to see where it came from. "Look no further." said the voice again, "for I am within the Grand Blade itself, and am able to speak to you through your mind." Jackson stopped, his eyes momentarily looking above him, then looked down at the sword. "The Grand Blade?" he asked. "Yes," replied the voice, "though I am surprised that came here so soon. I had no idea you were going to be so young when we would first meet. Fortunately, I was able to age you so you can be prepared for the challenges ahead." "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Jackson, "Age me? Challenges? Would you mind telling me what the deuce is going on here?" The voice didn't say anything for a while, but it then chuckled as it said, "I should've guess that at such a young age, you wouldn't be able to comprehend what is going on with a feeble mind like yours..." "Hey!" barked Jackson. "...But I guess," continued the voice, "you do need a little explanation after all this. Very well, I shall explain."

The voiced paused for a second, then it continued, "The weapon you hold right now is an ancient sword that can only be wield by those who are worthy of it's strength; the Grand Blade." Jackson tilted the sword side to side, not seeing anything that would make it ancient. "The Grand Blade was once wield by a warrior, one who was able to bring courage among others to fight at her side. She fought against the dark, who was equal with her strength, and thus they both destroyed each other. The sword was then sent towards this plinth, where it was placed and vanished from the eyes of the people, only to reveal itself to the one who is worthy."

The voice paused, waiting for a response from Jackson, who was shocked with everything the voice was saying. "You mean me?" he asked the voice. "Yes." it replied, "For you see, your strength has barely awaken. You were born as a descendent of humans with incredible skills. However, you are only a diamond in the rough, and you need to mature in time, in order to truly wield the sword." "Well how do I do that?" asked Jackson. "You will have to train yourself into mastering the sword. If you do that, you will accomplish the first step along your path." Jackson thought to himself for a second. _What did that mean, mastering the sword? Does that mean I haven't learned everything there is about swordplay?_

He thought for a little while, then the voice said, "Now, don't you have some friends to save?" Jackson gasped. He had completely forgotten about his friends, and who knows how long it has been. He placed the Grand Blade back in its' scabbard, then he charged down the steps and dashed towards the direction he went once before, but now he felt prepared to take on whatever may face him... he hoped.

**Chapter 2: Battle at the Base**

Jackson pelted through the jungle, leaping over vines and stumps as if they were nothing. "Hey, I feel a lot lighter on my feet." said an excited Jackson. "Your body's natural skill have been improved above the average human." Said the voice, "improving your flexibility, speed, strength, and endurance. It shall prove to be useful as you face enemies." Jackson kept dashing, not even knowing where he was going, but always feeling like he was getting closer.

Sure enough, from over the canopy, Jackson could see something that looks like a humongous fortress. He finally gets to the edge of the forest, where through the shrubs, he was able to see its' highly fortified walls of the place. On the open field, there were several E-Bots just standing about, waiting for any signs of movement.

Jackson made sure he wasn't in sight of these things. "All right," said Jackson, making sure he had his sword ready and the Chaos Emerald in a safe spot, "Time to get my friends back." He was about to leap out, when a pair of hands came out from behind and grabbed him and cover his mouth. The movement was so sudden, and Jackson was instantly toppled onto his back. "What are you nuts?" said a deep, rough voice. Jackson looked up at his imposer. The person that stopped him was a red Mobian echidna. He wore white gloves with spikes on each of them, red and yellow striped shoes, and green cuffs. His eyes were violet, and also angry.

"Do you know where you are, kid?" he asked, pulling Jackson up at the scruff of his shirt, "Your on the edge of the lion's den, Eggman's base." Jackson tries to pull away from the guy's grip as he replied, "Yeah, I realize that. I came here deliberately to save Sonic and Amy!" "Oh yeah?" replied the echidna, "and just who are you anyway?" "My name is Jackson." he replied with conviction. "Wait," said the echidna, "you mean the same Jackson as Tails talks about? The human from a different world?" "Your looking at him." replied Jackson with a smirk on his face. The echidna lets go of Jackson's shirt. Jackson stood up, straightening his shirt while he was at it.

"Who are you anyway?" Jackson asked. "Knuckles," he said, raising his fist, "Sorry to manhandle you like that, but this is no place for a kid like you. You should get out of here." "Oh, I will get out of here," replied Jackson as he picked up his sword, "just as soon as I save Sonic and Amy from this place." "Oh really?" remarked Knuckles, slightly amused by Jackson's comment, "And just how are you gonna get in? Using that?" He pointed towards the sword Jackson was carrying. "You betcha!" said Jackson with a grin.

"Well let me see it for a sec." asked Knuckles, holding out his palm, "It looks pretty interesting." Jackson let Knuckles take a hold of it by the hilt. All of a sudden, the sword let out an electrical surge onto Knuckles, shocking him, and causing him to bellow as he dropped the sword. "What the?" started Jackson, then the voice spoke up. "My apologies," she said, "But this sword can only be held by those who are true swordsman, and only you can truly wield its' strength." "Oops," said Jackson.

Knuckles tilted backwards, slightly paralyzed by the shocked, but recovered almost instantly. "Hey, what was that for?!" shouted Knuckles. "Sorry," apologized Jackson, "I guess only true swordsman can carry it." "Well maybe you should put a warning label on this before I grabbed it!" growled Knuckles, not even remotely keeping cool. "Hey I didn't know either until you grabbed it." remarked Jackson, picking up his sword, "It's not my fault your so..." The canopy parted. An E-Bot came out of nowhere, and almost landed on top of the two if they hadn't dodged it. "Get out of here, Jackson!" Knuckles shouts as he leaps into the air and punches the robot, sending it hurdling to the ground. "Not yet!" yelled Jackson, and he leaps into action.

Jackson pelts towards the fortress without a second thought. Then two more E-Bots suddenly got in his way. Jackson panicked for a second. "Do not worry," said the voice, "I shall help guide the sword with you." "Ok," thought Jackson. He leaps towards the robots, and with one swipe of his blade, he slices the first robot cleanly in half. He then jumps back just as soon as the robot exploded, sending his partner flying. "Oh wow!" exclaimed Jackson. "That was awesome!" "No time to commemorate yourself, young swordsman." said the voice. "Right, gotta keep on fightin'," said Jackson, tightening his grip as he charged towards the oncoming horde of robots.

One by one, they fell at his sword, either unable to move, or they self-destructed. One almost came upon Jackson, but Knuckles came in and tackled the brute down. "Thanks," gasped Jackson. "No problem." smirked Knuckles, "Your actually doin' pretty good yourself. Come on, we got some incoming." Jackson gripped his Grand Blade, Knuckles raised his fist, and both charged at the enemy.

From above, Tails arrived at the scene. He looks down to notice the action. "Hey, is that Jackson?" he said to himself, "How did he get here?" He angled the plane downwards for a better view. "That's strange," he commented, "Those aren't the clothes we got him, and he looks a lot different from before. What's going on here?" He scratched his forehead for a second, but then remembered why he was here. He started to dive-bomb the robots, shooting his laser at them.

Jackson notices the Tornado doing so for a split second, but then notices the whole row of robots coming. _Ah, snap!_ thought Jackson. "Not to worry." said the voice once again, "Just use a sword beam technique." "A sword what?" said Jackson in his head. "Just focus your energy towards the tip of your blade, and then swing it." Jackson nodded, he closed his eyes for a second, centering his focus upon his sword. Then he lifted the sword and, with a movement like a baseball batter, swung his sword, crying out the words "_Sword Beam!_" And out of his sword came a thin burst of energy, shaping itself into the arch that Jackson shaped. It soared straight through the line robots, leaving a clean cut on every robot that came in contact. One by one, they either fell down or exploded, each one not able to take the damage. Jackson stood amazed at what he just did. Knuckles leapt next to him from out of nowhere. "How did you do that?" gaped Knuckles, emphasizing every syllable as he said it. "Not sure…" Jackson said slowly, then grinned, "But I like it!"

Jackson, Knuckles and Tails kept taking down the robots one by one, Jackson continuing to slice and dice, and only using his sword beam on far off enemies. "Hey Jackson!" cried Knuckles. Jackson turned to see him next to what looked like an entrance to the fortress. "You slice it, I'll smash it." said Knuckles as he pointed towards the door. Jackson smirks, then charges towards the door, dodging an E-Bots fist along the way. He get to the door and slices a big X on the door, and with one punch, Knuckles instantly knocks down the door. They both charged in. A robot was attempting to follow suite, but Tails gunned him down. He looks down at the entrance. "Good luck, you guys." he murmurs as he takes to the sky again.

**Chapter 3 The Swordsman's Strike**

Inside the computer room of the base, two smaller, but more intellectual robots were typing rapidly on the computer. The entrance door slides open, and there stood Dr. Eggman, looking irritable. "What's all the racket?" he bellowed at the two. "Sir, there seem to be intruders in the building." said one of the robots. "Bring them up on screen." demanded Eggman. The robots type quickly away until they pulled it up. On the screen there was a view of one of the cameras within the building. Upon it, two E-bots were taken down by Knuckles and Jackson. "Well this does seem to be a problem, isn't it?" said Dr. Eggman as he rubbed his chin. "It seems like that brat was more than just talk." He glowered for a second, then changes it into a grin. "Maybe it's about time I prove to him how powerful I really am." He whoops into laughter as he leave the computer room. One robot looks at the other, who shrugged, not knowing what he meant.

Meanwhile, Jackson and Knuckles continued to make progress as they went through the maze, destroying every robot that came their way. "You know where your going?" asked Jackson. "Me?" said Knuckles, "I thought I was following you." They make it to a cross section. "Great." grumbled Knuckles, "Now where do we go?" Jackson thought a minute, and then the voice replied, "They are to your left." "Gotcha," said Jackson, and he dashed towards that direction, Knuckles following behind.

They reach another door, which slid open for them as they got close. They enter into a spacious room. Jackson saw Sonic in the middle of it, still carried within the gravity field. Amy was not far off, hanging on the wall by her arms and legs. They both look to see their saviors at the doorway. "Jackson?" said Sonic, shocked by his presence, "What... How...?" "No time for explanation!" said Jackson abruptly, "Knuckles, get Amy. I got Sonic." Both of them dash towards their targets. Knuckles jumped up and ripped off the cuffs that were holding Amy in place. Jackson jumps up and slices through the machine that was creating the field, sending it toppling down, and releasing Sonic from its' restraints.

"Thanks guys," said Amy, rubbing the parts on her arm where the cuffs were. Sonic turned to Jackson. "Hey, what happened to you, pal?" he said curiously, "You've completely changed from the last time I saw you." Jackson chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head. "Well it's a long story." He started. "A story you'll never hear!" echoed Eggman's voice. They all turn to see Eggman come down in his capsule vehicle, still wearing that grin on his face. Jackson glared up at Eggman, holding his sword up at him. "I may not know how you got so strong, but I think it's time I put an end to your endeavors."

He hovered back towards the wall on the far side of the room. He pressed a button on his control grid, and the wall behind him parts, revealing a humongous robot. It was ten times the size of the other robots, and probably as powerful. It had two giant fists, a pair of heavily armored legs, and armor on its' chest, where it contained a picture of Eggman's face on it. It's head was large, containing two yellow eyes on it, and where its' brain should be, a hole was there. Eggman hovers over the monstrosity, and neatly placed his vehicle within the hole, combining the two. The yellow eyes lit up, and then the machine started to walk towards Jackson and his friends.

Eggman grinned down at the apposing foursome. "Lets see how well you can stand up to this, kid." Then his vehicle is enclosed within a glass dome, protecting Eggman. "Egg-Kong, Attack!" cried Eggman through a speaker. The machine reared its' fist, then slammed it down at the others. Jackson and Sonic barely had time to get out of its' path. They skidded back to where Knuckles and Amy were. "Okay, guys," Sonic said to the team, "Lets teach Eggman not to mess with us!" Jackson gripped his sword even tighter, Sonic prepared to run, Knuckles clenched his fists at the ready, and Amy summoned out a huge hammer from out of nowhere. All at once they attacked.

Sonic was first, and he spin-dashed into the robot, causing it to stutter back. Jackson instantly follows suit, leaping towards the robot with his sword wield over his head, preparing to strike. However, the robot regained balance, and he swung his fist at Jackson, which made contact this time. Jackson's body was instantly smacked by the fist, causing him to fly backwards, then fall down on the floor, groaning in pain. "Jackson!" cried Knuckles as he and Amy went passed him. They both went and attacked the legs, but they proved to be durable. The robot lifted his leg, causing Amy and Knuckles to keel backwards from its' sudden movement. They landed close to Jackson, who was just getting up.

"Guys!" he cried, seeing them fall to the ground. He then leapt to his feet and charged at the giant robot. Its' fist was ready to strike again, but Sonic intervened by attacking it, causing it to lose its' momentum, giving Jackson enough time to leap onto the arm, reach the shoulder, and slice at it. It caused a deep cut within the machine. "Yeah!" cheered Jackson, but the moment was short lived. For out of nowhere, the other fist came to greet Jackson, and it knocked Jackson off, carrying Sonic with him. Jackson falls onto his back again, but Sonic managed to land on his feet.

"You ok, Jackson?" he asked over the machines havoc. "Yeah," replied Jackson, getting up on his feet again, "I think I'm doing alright." He couldn't believe how well he was enduring his attacks. Amy and Knuckles came to Jackson and Sonic's side, making sure they were ready. "Alright, that's it!" cried Amy, "I gonna mess you up so badly for what you did to Sonic and Jackson!" She charges at the robot, screaming at the top of her voice as she charged with her mallet at hand. Jackson, Knuckles and Sonic followed behind, equally determined to take down the beast.

The battle was rough, each of them taking heavy hits from the robot. No matter how much damage they did to the robot, it kept on fighting. After a while, the battering of the machine was starting to get to them. Amy and Knuckles were on the ground with bruises all over them. Sonic was panting slightly, having a hard time keeping on going. Jackson, however, was charging once again at the machine, but it longed out its' fist at the ground, causing Jackson to be blown back with all the rubble. Jackson fell to the ground, his whole entire body ached with pain after the continuous strikes of the machine. He was barely able to stand up. Jackson looked to all of his friends.

"Why," panted Jackson, "why are we unable to take down this guy?" Sonic frowned at Eggman. "It's possible," said Sonic, "but maybe the machine is powered by a Chaos Emerald." "What?!" gasped Jackson. Eggman whooped with laughter once more. "Bravo, my little pin cushion!" says Eggman, "you finally figured it out. My Egg-Kong is indeed carrying an Emerald within it. Now you see there's no way you can stop it." Jackson couldn't believe it. _Can a Chaos Emerald be able to power up machines?_ he thought.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulled out his Chaos Emerald. He stares at it for a while, then stares up at the robot, then at Eggman, who was still wearing a broad grin. He then looks at all of his friends, sees Sonic still panting, unable to move, sees Knuckle helping up Amy onto her feet. The conviction within him seemed to boil over. Slowly and steadily, he walks towards the robot, his sword at one hand, and the Chaos Emerald in the other. He stops dead between the robot and his friends. Eggman loses his grin and stares down at Jackson with a quizzical look.

"So, kid." he asked Jackson from down below, "You finally give up? You gonna give me that Chaos Emerald?" Jackson looks up at Eggman, pants for a while, then smirks. "Ok, sure." he said simply. Sonic, Amy and Knuckles looked surprised at Jackson, thinking he finally admit defeat. Jackson continued, "But your gonna have to grab it from my dead body!" He yelled out the last few words. Eggman looked taken aback at this, Sonic and the others still shown surprised looks, but now from Jackson's conviction. "You think I came all the way here, just to give you the Emerald after all this?" cried Jackson, standing his ground, staring up at Eggman and the monstrous machine, "Sorry to disappoint you, but like it or not, I won't give up, and that's final!"

His willpower seemed to activate something within him. The energy surged into him, and it was as if the bruises weren't there anymore. He then lifts the Chaos Emerald into the air, then balances the point of the Emerald to the tip of his Grand Blade. He slowly brings down the sword, directly pointing it at the chest of the robot, the Emerald still connected with the sword, as if invisible glue seemed to connect the two. The Emerald seemed to light up, its' energy surging as well. The sword began to glow as well, its' radiant energy shown brighter. Sonic and the others were staring open mouthed at this sight, even Eggman was surprised by this performance.

Jackson closed his eyes for only a second, then they lit up. "_GRAND BLAST!_" he shouted, and the energy shot out in a beam. It hit the machine dead in the chest, where it pierced directly through it, continued to the roof, and blasted through that, too. The blast was so powerful, Jackson even skidded back a bit. Sonic came rushing to his side, and kept him from falling over. Amy and Knuckles did the same, bracing onto Jackson as he continued to send the energy blast through the machine. Eggman panicked, he pressed a button, separating him from the robot, and flew away.

Jackson seized his firing, the Emerald dropped to the ground, his sword back to normal, but Jackson kept his position. The robot, unable to withstand the blast, exploded causing shrapnel to go flying everywhere, along with... "Look!" said Sonic, "The other Chaos Emerald!" It was soaring to them, it's light blue hue almost beaconing them to get it. Sonic jumped up and captured it.

The moment he got back onto the ground, however, the whole building started to shake. Apparently, the battle caused much more damage than they thought. "We have to get out of here!" shouted Jackson, and after picking up his Emerald, they all took off, darting through the collapsing rubble around them. Sonic, although fast, stayed with the group, making sure they got out of there safely. Jackson led the group through the wreckage, slicing and dicing any bits of rubble that got in there way.

Finally, with everyone still together, they found the exit, dashing out of the base just in time, as the building finally gave way, and caved in upon itself. Jackson and the others stopped running when they were far from the flying rubble. Tails's plane could be seen still flying high, looking down at the wreckage. Sonic, bent over from exhaustion, looks up at Jackson, who was standing tall, and only slightly panting. "You saved us, Jackson." said Sonic, looking both happy and amazed by Jackson's courageous effort. Jackson turns to Sonic and says, "Well, I told you I could do it." He smiles at Sonic for a moment, then he starts to sway, then keels over onto the ground, completely drained. The others panicked, telling Jackson to wake up, as Tails came in for a landing. The battle has won.

**Chapter 11: The Swordsman's Awakening**

Jackson was in an unconscious stasis, not knowing how he came to be so, all he knew was that he was there. He started to open up his eyes, trying to understand what happened. Then he realized where he was. He was in his bed at Tails's house. Somewhere to his left side, he heard Tails's voice cry out, "Jackson, your awake!" With his mind in place, and his eyes wide open, he slowly sat up. He felt a hand behind him, supporting his ascent.

"How do you feel?" said Sonic from somewhere. Jackson looked all around him. Tails was supporting Jackson, with Sonic right next to him. On the other side of the bed, Amy and Knuckles were standing there, watching Jackson. "You sure had us worried there, Jackson." said Knuckles with a grin, "I didn't know you had that power in you." "Huh?" said Jackson, "What power?" "You know," said Sonic, "That blast of energy that came out of your sword, the energy that destroyed Eggman's robot." Jackson felt dazed and confused. "What are you talking about?" The others gave concerned looks at Jackson, then at each other.

"You mean you don't remember?" asked Amy. Jackson rubbed his forehead. "I do remember yelling at Eggman." he said, trying to recollect on what just happened, "but afterwards, I don't know what happened. I kind of blacked out there for a while." "That would be because of me." replied a voice. Jackson flinched. He completely forgotten about the voice coming from the Grand Blade, which was sitting upright next to the night table. "Wait you did this?" he asked out loud. "Who are you talking to?" asked Tails. "That voice." said Jackson, "The voice that came from my blade." "I don't hear anything," said Knuckles, holding out his hand to his ear. "That is because your the only one who can hear me, Jackson." said the voice, "for I am connected with you." "Oh," said Jackson, making sure he said his words out loud, "So I'm the only one who can hear you?" Tails and Sonic looked at each other, worried that Jackson would've gone insane. "Yes, for now," replied the voice, "For you see, when your courage rose, so did your energy, and I assisted you with using that energy. This explains why you don't remember the incident." "Gotcha." said Jackson. "In any case," continued the voice, "It seems like I have used too much of my energy, so I shall depart back to where I once was." "_Wait,_" said Jackson, now speaking to it through his mind, "_What about the challenges you spoke of? How can I do them without you?_" "Remember, Jackson," replied the voice, "You now have great and strong friends by your side. Have faith in them, as well as in yourself. You will meet others, some will give you joy, some will give sadness, but all the while, your strength will increase as long as you believe. Face the looming darkness with your courage, Jackson, and you shall win." "_Ok, I will,_" thought Jackson, "_But I have so many questions. Can you answer them for me?_" There was no response. The voice was gone.

"Jackson?" said Tails, bringing Jackson's attention to the outside world, "You sure your ok?" Jackson shook his head into focus, remembering where he was at. "I'm fine," said Jackson, "In fact, I think I should explain things." He then tells them all about what happened in the forest, about finding the alter, the transformation, the Grand Blade, the voice, and her explanation as why Jackson couldn't remember the final attack.

When he concluded, everyone paused for a second, trying to take in everything he said. "Wow." said Sonic, "Sound like you got your work cut out for you." "I'll say." said Knuckles, "From what you just said, it seems like your gonna be facing something fierce in the near future." "Yeah, well," said Jackson, "as long as I learn to truly wield the Grand Blade, I should have no problem."

There was a long pause, then Sonic burst into laughter. Jackson and the others stared at him. "Well, this sounds like a lot of fun, Jackson!" he chuckled, "I can't believe it. One day, we find you lying on the ground totally battered, the next you seem to grow up and become a hero." Jackson eyes lit up. _A hero? Me?_ he thought to himself. He then gave the biggest grin he had ever made. "Yeah, that's cool!" he shouted, "Me, a hero." Jackson burst into laughter. Tails, Amy and Knuckles looked at each other, perplexed by this sudden change of atmosphere, then they smiled at both of them. They acted more like brothers than just friends, despite their different looks. Jackson leapt out of bed. "Guess evil should prepare when we are on the job." said Jackson "They better," agreed Sonic, grinning at Jackson, "Cause evil gonna be faced with the strongest duo of Sonic the Hedgehog..." "And yours truly," replied Jackson, "For I am Jackson. Jackson the Swordsman!" They jumped into the air, and high-fived each other.

I am Jackson. Jackson the Swordsman. And this is where my story begins.


End file.
